On the Edge of the Roman Empire
by bored-now0809
Summary: Pre-Movie.  Slight AU.  The knights end up at a Roman estate and Gawain becomes romantically involved.  Follow their story as they go through their lives at the edge of the Roman Empire...Gawain/OC
1. On the Edge of the Roman Empire

**AN: My first foray into King Arthur Fanfiction. Review and let me know what you think! **

**Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own anything except my original characters- Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: On the Edge of the Roman Empire**

The day started off ordinarily enough. Valeria looked out the window of her home and repressed a sigh. It was rainy. Again. It seemed like all it did in Briton was rain. She felt a frown tug down the corners of her mouth and couldn't help but silently curse her mother's husband- her step-father- who had moved them to this land. It had been three years since they had been here and it seemed as though the weather just kept getting colder and colder. She sighed. She had just had her sixteenth birthday and even though it was still summer, it was nothing like summer back home.

Valeria quickly dressed and grabbed a shawl before heading to the woman's baths. Honestly, she didn't even know why they kept the cold chamber- it's not like they needed it up here at the far end of the empire. She decided to skip the cold rooms altogether and start in the warm room before going onto the hot bath itself.

On her way, Valeria couldn't help but notice the nervous anticipation that seemed to be in the air. She was not an early riser, so she wondered what had happened that morning that could cause some of the normal smiling and easy going Britons to appear so nervous and skittish. Stopping her maid Elspeth, Valeria asked her what was wrong.

"Oh Miss! The whole castle is in an uproar! You wouldn't believe what's happening!" Elspeth said in a nervous whisper. Valeria's forehead creased in confusion.

"Come with me to the baths and tell me." Valeria said. Elspeth looked nervous, but nodded when Valeria assured her that she would not get into any trouble. The only other person who used the women's baths frequently was Valeria's mother and she was usually up before the sun. It would be as private a place as any for the two girls to talk.

"What has happened this morning?" Valeria asked, feeling nervous herself as she watched Elspeth twist her apron between her two hands- the girl was usually even tempered and cheerful- not a frightened mouse.

"Valeria, _Arthur Castus and his knights are here!_" Elspeth hissed. Valeria paused in her steps before continuing on her way, with Elspeth behind her. The quickly reached the women's baths and Valeria flung the doors open. Elspeth came in behind and bolted it shut.

"I wonder why they've come." Valeria wondered as she and Elspeth began to unclothe for the bath. Elspeth shuddered before sliding into the water.

"I don't know, but they are nothing more than _barbarians_." Elspeth said with a shudder. Valeria entered the bath as well and began to apply her scented oil before moving into the next chamber, passing some to Elspeth so the girl could do the same. Having come on occasion with her Roman friend, Elspeth rolled her eyes a little, but followed suit.

"Why do you say that, Elspeth? Surely they can't be much worse than any of the other men of our acquaintance." Valeria said with a wry smile and Elspeth couldn't help but giggle. Valeria was pleased to see some of the tension lift from her shoulders.

"I suppose you may be right, but it is said that they travel north of the wall and battle the Woads. To have battled the Woads for so long and survive, they must be fierce." She paused and laughed out loud "Or at least worse than Aldric the blacksmith." Both girls laughed at that and were silent for a while in their bathing rituals.

"I think we should be grateful for their protection." Valeria said after awhile. She remembered very well when the Woads that had attacked their caravan on the way to the castle they now lived in. How could she forget when the Woads had killed her brother?

"True, but they are surely devils themselves!" Elspeth exclaimed- instinctively knowing where Valeria's thoughts had strayed. Valeria shook off her melancholy and smiled back at Elspeth. "It's said that they come from a land far away, farther than Rome itself and that they live wild on the land and have no home. They worship the very horses that they ride…" Elspeth's stories were cut short by a banging on the outer door.

"What could that be?" Valeria asked a bit confused. She and Elspeth exchanged wary glances before moving to quickly to cleanse the oil from their bodies and grab the towels they had placed on the bench behind them.

"Bloody hell! It's locked!" They heard a voice from behind the door say. The girls exchanged another look before hurriedly grabbing their dresses that were hanging on the hooks on the wall. Elspeth was dressed first- her simple work clothes not as complicated as the elaborate clasps that Valeria struggled with. Elspeth quickly went to help her.

"I believe that the young miss-" They heard the familiar voice of Gaius, the keeper of the women's and men's baths begin.

"Young miss, eh?" An interested voice asked with what could only be described as a smirk in his voice.

"Sir!" Gaius exclaimed outraged.

"Lancelot, stop it." An exhausted voice said with a sigh. There was a bit of a scuffle and then a hesitant knock was heard.

"Miss Valeria?" The two girls stopped at Gaius' voice.

"Yes, Gaius. I'm here. Elspeth is with me. We will be out in a few moments." Valeria said trying to keep her voice calm. She could practically hear Gaius' relief in his quiet answer that followed.

"Barbarians." Elspeth hissed under her breath as her panic relaxed a little bit and they could both work the clasps on the dress. Valeria chuckled a bit, but Elspeth could tell by the rapid beating of her friend's heart that she too had been a bit panicked at the thought of several burly warriors finding the two of them bathing.

Soon the two girls were finished and Elspeth pulled back the bolt on the door as Valeria hurriedly gathered the rest of her things.

"So, is this the young miss we've heard so much about?" The smirking voice asked and Valeria looked up to see a man with dark curling hair entwine his fingers with Elspeth's wet hair.

"Lancelot…" The tired voice growled again, but both were interrupted by the first voice- which was owned by a burly looking man with a shaved head and solid looking frame.

"About time girly." He said pushing into the room and stopping when he saw Valeria. He turned and sneered at Lancelot. "I think there's your young miss." He said with a chuckle.

Looking at the two girls it was obvious which was Roman and which wasn't. Elspeth was a very pretty girl with red hair and blue eyes like most of the native Britons. She was also tall and willowy; all facts that betrayed her heritage. The other girl was rather petite and had an olive complexion and dark, almost black hair, with equally dark exotic looking eyes.

Lancelot looked between the two girls as a dog might look between two equally appealing bones. The girls were saved any of his "charm" though by the third knight- who promptly hit Lancelot on the back of the head. He bowed at them, his tangles of blonde hair falling into his eyes.

"Ladies, I apologize for our interruption- and manners." He said with a wry grin. "Our journey has been long." Gaius looked ready to burst from the rudeness being shown the two girls, but Valeria interceded.

"It is I who should apologize." Valeria said with a slight bow of her head. "I should not have tarried so long." She smiled at all the knights and moved towards the door. She felt her heart beating hard in her chest. She remembered all of the knights before her, but she remembered one of them more fondly than the others- he was the one who had saved her three years ago. Although, judging from the look in his eyes; he did not remember her.

As Valeria walked out of the bath and the knights in, she couldn't help but blush as Lancelot began to undress. As soon as she was clear of the door, Gaius slammed it shut. He gave the girls a look and Valeria laughed.

"I am sorry Gaius- I slept much later than usual today, didn't I?" She asked and Gaius couldn't help but smile back at her. He had known her since she was a baby, having been the main bath attendant to her late father's estates on the Amalphi coast where Valeria had been raised.

"Aye, miss. Best not do it again while the knights are here though." He said with a thoughtful frown not really liking how Lancelot had looked at either young lady.

"Don't worry Gaius, we'll be careful." Valeria said. The two girls began to walk back to the main area of the castle and were half way there before Valeria realized that she had left her shawl in the baths.

"I bet one of those _barbarians_ use it as a towel." Elspeth said spitefully. She had not appreciated Lancelot's advances one bit. Valeria sighed, knowing it was probably true.

"Come, no use getting upset over what is done." She replied and then both girls parted ways as they went about their morning duties. Elspeth to the kitchens and Valeria to the library.

OOOooooOOO

Gawain floated on his back in the surprisingly large pool that was in the Roman bathhouse. He mentally corrected himself- the Roman women's bathhouse since the rest of their party had filled up the other bathhouse. He tried to block out Bors and Lancelot who were arguing about whether or not Lancelot should go after the young Roman girl or the maid, however, their talk could not be ignored.

"I say you should go for the maid- Romans bring nothing but trouble." Bors said with a grunt.

"Yes, but the Roman had that innocent, vulnerable look in her eyes that you know I love." Lancelot said. Gawain rolled his eyes as Bors laughed.

"You're so predictable." Bors said. "I still say go for the maid. She's a red head after all and you know what they're like." Now it was Lancelot's turn to laugh.

"Oh yes. Give Vanora my regards by the way." Lancelot said and Gawain sighed as heard a splash and scuffle. Moving so he could see what Lancelot and Bors were up to he saw that Bors had Lancelot in a headlock and was repeatedly dunking him under the water.

"You don't talk about my woman that way." Bors was growling, still a little worried about Vanora's affections even though they'd been together for several years and had several children together to show for it. Although, Gawain had to admit to himself, the oldest did look a lot like Lancelot. He sighed, not in the mood for this.

"Stop it, the both of you." While normally they might've complained and dragged him into their argument, this time they acquiesced with only muttered apologies. Gawain knew it was because of the death of Gareth a couple of weeks before. They all knew how his younger brother's death still tore at him.

Gawain pulled himself out of the pool and went to where Gaius had placed towels and clean tunics for them. Amidst the towels, a long blue, finely woven shawl fell to the floor. Lancelot whistled.

"IT must belong to the young miss." He smirked and reached out. "Maybe I'll just give that back to her-"

"I'll give it back to her." Gawain said sharply and Lancelot paused in his movement and looked at the incongruous sight of the large and burly, often described as scary, Gawain held a delicate blue shawl in his calloused hands. He took in the serious look in the knight's face and merely nodded turning back to Bors.

"Perhaps I will go after the maid after all." Lancelot said and was answered by a glare from Gawain and a chuckle from Bors.

**AN- please review!**


	2. History Lesson

**AN: Thanks so much for the positive reviews so far! I hope that you like the next chapter...**

**Chapter 2: History Lesson**

A few days after his arrival, Gawain found himself still in possession of a rather fine lady's shawl. He should've realized that he wouldn't be able to talk to or see the girl at meals but he had forgotten that traditional Romans, and it seemed that her step-father Fulvonius fell into that category, did not eat with their women. Gawain thought it a ridiculous tradition and scowled- it was making this much harder than it had to be. He finally had free time and here he was tracking down some slip of a girl to give her back her shawl. Hearing female laughter from a room up ahead, he decided to investigate.

The door was slightly open and Gawain peaked inside. He smiled at what he saw inside. It seemed that Elspeth and Valeria were supposed to be sewing, but their sewing was spread around them in an untidy mess. The two girls were chatting and laughing hard about something. Gawain thought he heard Lancelot's name and couldn't help but grin himself. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." Valeria called a laugh still on the corners of her voice. He could tell that they were both surprised to see him.

"Sir Gawain! What a pleasant surprise." Valeria said with a welcoming smile. Gawain paused. He wasn't expecting a welcoming air from her- and her smile was like a balm on his battered heart. He gave her a small hesitant smile back.

"I found this the other day and wanted to return it to you." He said holding out her shawl. Valeria's smile seemed to grow.

"Thank-you so much. I was afraid that I had lost it the other day." She replied. Elspeth frowned a bit.

"Why didn't you just leave it with Gaius?" Elspeth asked. Gawain looked at her blankly for a bit and she rolled her eyes. "The keeper of the baths? He would've returned it." Gawain felt himself blushing a bit.

"I didn't think of that." He mumbled after a moment. He gave a slight bow before turning and leaving quickly feeling like an idiot. Of course he could've left it with Gaius! What was he thinking of! He stormed down the hallway with the blood pounding in his head. He started at the small hand that seemed to suddenly appear on his arm.

"I almost couldn't catch you!" Valeria panted and Gawain realized she must've come after him from the room- and called his name a few times too.

"I'm sorry, my lady. I didn't mean to be forward or to embarrass you in front of your maid. I really didn't think to give it to Gaius-"

"Sir Gawain, pay Elspeth no mind. It was very kind of you to hold onto it for me and take the trouble to return my belongings in person. I should not be so careless with them." She smiled at him again and Gawain felt some of his embarrassment seep away. He also noticed that Lancelot was right- she did have that innocent, vulnerable look in her eyes.

"You were flustered." He said putting his hand on top of hers. Then he laughed remembering the details of Lancelot and Bors' behavior. "I don't really blame you with the way Lancelot and Bors were going on." She laughed a bit too.

"Yes, it was rather…intimidating." She replied. "So how do you find the castle, Sir Gawain?" She asked not willing to part from him so early. Suddenly, something struck him.

"My name…how do you know my name, my Lady?" He asked realizing that no one had mentioned his name in front of her- he was just one of many knights staying at the castle. To his surprise, she blushed.

"You probably don't remember, but Arthur and his knights- of which you were one of the party- escorted us here when we first arrived in Briton." He looked at her carefully, thinking he would've remembered escorting such a pretty young lady- even with the sour step-father!

"How long ago was this?"

"Three years." She said with a bit a wistful look in her eyes. She quickly shook off the melancholy. "I'm sure you go around saving people everyday so it wasn't a big deal to you, but it was the first and only time that someone had saved my life."

"I saved your life?" Gawain asked.

"Yes."

**OOOoooOOO**

"_Titus, I hear that the women are just as fierce fighters as the men up here. You'll have to sharpen your skills with the blade before you'll be able to find anyone who will have you!" Valeria said with a laugh as she teased her brother. Titus merely rolled his eyes at her before giving her a sharp look. _

"_Well I'd say that you'll be hard pressed to catch that dark knight's attention with that smudge of dirt on your face." He laughed as his sister began to wipe at the smudge on the side of her cheek. She scowled at him. _

"_I don't begin to know what you're talking about." She returned haughtily before turning her nose up in the air. He brother laughed all the more. _

"_Oh Lancelot!" He said in a falsetto voice. "I'm just a skinny little Roman girl, but if you could just wait a few years…" _

"_Mum!" Valeria cried, her face turning red, she quickly looked out the carriage's window relieved to see a big grey horse riding beside them; it was not Lancelot. Their mother merely chuckled at their antics. _

"_You started it Valeria." She grinned as her daughter scowled. "Just be glad your stepfather isn't here for this." She shook her head and this time it was Titus who scowled. _

"_If only he could ride his horse every day." Titus muttered. Valeria was about to agree when there was a battle cry and a thunking noise. Valeria looked back to her family and her throat seemed to close up at the bloody sight before her. Her brother had an arrow through his right eye, his left eye unseeing. He was dead and she couldn't even scream. _

_Suddenly the door was ripped open and an armor clad arm reached in and grabbed her and her mother out of the carriage, cursing when he saw the young man, dead. Valeria looked around in a bit in her shock- there were people battling everywhere. The knights seemed to be grossly outnumbered as a swarm of blue demons began to bear down on their caravan. Someone was yelling something at her that she couldn't understand and then, she felt herself being pushed under the carriage. The pain from being pushed forcibly to the ground caught her attention and she looked up, holding gazes with the knight with the blonde hair. _

"_Stay there." He told her sharply and she nodded, absently feeling her mother put her arm around her. _

_She watched as the knight spun around just before a Woad could stab at him from behind and Valeria felt a sort of savage triumph as he killed the Woad before her very eyes. She only hoped that he could kill the one who killed Titus before the battle was over. Her mother was praying beside her, tears rolling down her face. She urged her daughter to pray as well, but Valeria was unable to take her eyes off the battle before her; off of the knight with the golden hair who had saved her. _

_The battle ended as quickly as it began. The Woads seemed to melt back into the forest that they came from. Valeria's mother quickly moved from under the carriage, but Valeria stayed where she was. The blonde knight had told her to stay there- and she would stay there until he told her to come out. She saw his boots approach and he kneeled down and locked gazes with her. _

"_You can come out now girl, it's safe." He said, shooting a glare at Lancelot behind him who had guffawed at that remark. Valeria crawled out from under the carriage and Gawain noticed that her eyes seemed to dart to the carriage where her brother was still impaled with the arrow. Gawain was about to leave them to their own devices, when he noticed the girl start to swoon. He quickly caught her._

"_She's hurt!" Her mother cried, before breaking down herself- leaning on her husband for support. _

"_I'll take her to our healer." Gawain said softly before picking up Valeria as though she weighed nothing. Gawain was able to find Dagonet fairly easily. He explained that the girl's arm was bleeding and with a sheepish smile, explained that it was probably from where her arm got caught on the carriage when he pushed her under it. Dagonet patted Gawain on the arm before tending to the wound. _

_Gawain found himself walking back to the carriage where his brother Gareth was taking care of the body of the young Roman boy who had been killed. Gawain sighed and went over to help his brother. _

"_Gawain! Come to help me?" Gareth asked with a grimace as he looked at the corpse. The boy looked to barely be older than 12 or 13 years old. _

"_Aye." Gawain said and they both sighed as they went to make the carriage habitable for the remainder of the journey. "Bloody Woads." Gawain muttered and Gareth merely grunted in agreement. _

_It wasn't long before Valeria woke up from her swoon. She looked to her left and saw a large knight with a fierce scar on the side of his face. She started in fear at first, but soon settled at the knight's calm gaze. She glanced at her arm, which seemed to be tingling. _

"_Your arm caught on the side of the carriage. I'm afraid that it will leave a scar." Dagonet told her. Before she could say anything else, the flap covering the wagon was pulled back. _

"_Are you alright?" Gawain asked. She merely nodded at him and the three of them were locked in an awkward silence. Dagonet was the one to break it. _

"_I must tend to the others." He said before hoisting himself out of the wagon to where Lancelot stood with a narrow slash on his leg. _

"_The carriage is ready for you." Gawain said and moved to help her down to the ground. She pulled back. _

"_I can't ride in there." She whispered looking up at him with huge eyes. Gawain felt a pang of sympathy. Having ridden beside the carriage for most of the journey, he had heard her laughing with her brother; he could tell that they had been close. _

"_I'll see if I can find an extra horse for you." Gawain said kindly and moved to help her down again. Valeria allowed herself to be lifted down but shook her head. _

"_I'm afraid that I don't know how to ride." She said, looking down at the ground. Gawain tilted her chin up. _

"_Come, Arthur will help us with a decision. If nothing else, you can ride with me on my horse." He gave her his best smile then. It had the effect that he wanted as she gave him a tentative smile back. _

_In the end, Valeria did ride the last few days with Gawain on his horse; much to her step father's chagrin. His own horse was killed during the battle, so he ended up riding in the carriage with Valeria's mother. To his mind, it was better to have the girl out of the way with one of the knights than taking up room in the cramped carriage that already smelt of blood. Fortunately, it was only two more days to the castle that would become the Roman family's home. _

_As soon as they arrived, Fulvonius and Junilla exited the carriage and began supervising the unloading of their goods by the serfs of the castle. Gawain glanced at them before dismounting himself and reaching up to lift Valeria from the back of the horse. _

"_You'll be safe here." He told her as she looked around the courtyard in a daze. She looked back up and focused on him. _

"_I don't think I'll ever be able to forget what happened." She said her eyes filling with tears. Gawain gently stroked her hair, unsure of what to say to such a young and innocent girl. He decided to go with honesty._

"_No, you won't." He sighed and cupped her chin in his palm, forcing her to look at him. "But the pain you feel, that will fade."_

"_But how can it?" She asked, breaking eye contact. "I don't want to forget him." Gawain released his hold and playfully tugged a lock of her long, dark hair. _

"_You won't. You can forget today in time, and then just remember all the good times you two shared. If you think of those, then the pain from today won't last for long." _

"_The more good memories, the faster the bad ones will go away?" She asked looking at him with a half smile, but the tears still in her eyes. He grinned. _

"_Exactly." Gawain said and walked away to join his brother knights. _

_As he walked away, Valeria felt her heart fill with love for him. She prayed that he would remain safe during his servitude to Rome…and held a flicker of hope that one day their paths would cross again. _

**OOOoooOOO**

"I still have the scar." Valeria said softly she said gesturing to her left forearm. "My first battle scar."

"Only battle scar." Gawain corrected. After a short pause, he continued. "I do remember that." Gawain admitted, giving her a small smile. "In fact, I've been thinking of that patrol recently."

"Why?" Valeria asked surprised. Gawain hesitated a bit before opening up to her.

"You seemed so broken after the death of your brother and I wondered how you were fairing." He said before swallowing against the bile that had suddenly risen in his throat. "My own brother fell in battle a short while ago."

Valeria didn't say anything. She merely placed her hand on his arm and they stood together in silence, both thinking about the brothers that Briton had taken away from them.

**AN: Reviews and constructive critism are always welcome**


	3. First Kiss

**AN: Thanks to AngelStorm, GeorgiaDawgette, and Misssyl for your reviews. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. There is a fair amount of fluffiness here but also a little angst. If you disliked her step-father before...get ready to really hate him!**

**Chapter 3: First Kiss**

Gawain couldn't stop thinking about his talk with Valeria. He had forgotten the advice that he had given her all those years ago regarding the death of her brother. But he decided to try to take his own advice and try to focus on the good times the two of them had had together. It wasn't that hard- he and his brother both had the same sanguine temperament; both always looked on the bright side of life so very few of his memories of Gareth were tainted with misery.

He also couldn't stop thinking about what a rare beauty Valeria had grown into. He remembered her as a somewhat gawky child the last time their paths had crossed. Suddenly an image of her in her blue shawl, and only her blue shawl, jumped into his head and he almost groaned aloud, before bumping into the very person he was thinking about.

"Sir Gawain!" Valeria said with a smile.

"My lady." Gawain said with a bow and a smile of his own.

"You may call me Valeria if you like." She said shyly. His smile broadened.

"Valeria." He looked around a bit. They were at the top of one of the towers. "What are you doing up here?" He asked and was surprised to see her blush.

"I enjoy coming up here on fine days." She said a little self defensively. "It's not often the sun comes out here, I like to be as close to it as possible."

"I can understand that!" Gawain said with a laugh. Valeria watched almost in awe as he laughed. His whole face seemed to light up and she knew that while some considered his size fearsome, she could see a kindness in his eyes that she found was rare in anyone. While not considered handsome by traditional Roman standards, she found his golden hair and shining blue eyes enthralling.

"What is your home like?" Valeria blurted out and grimaced as his laughter faded.

"You mean Hadrian's Wall?" He asked wondering at her embarrassment. She shook her head.

"I meant Sarmatia." At his hesitation she hurried on. "I grew up on cliffs overlooking the Ionian Sea and it is so different there than it is here- in fact different from everywhere we passed on our way here. We didn't see Sarmatia and I've often wondered what it is like." He gave her a thoughtful look.

"Why do you wonder about that?" He asked genuinely curious about her interest. She shrugged.

"Ever since I met you, I mean all the knights; I wondered what it was like. It must've been better than here." She said her nose curling up a bit as grey clouds began to cover the sun once more. Gawain laughed at her assessment.

"It is indeed." He said and at her interested look continued. "There are fields as far as the eye can see. In fact, I lived there for 15 years and at the time it seemed like there was no end to the fields that we travelled." He looked up at the clouds that had started to mist a bit with a frown and they both moved to the stairs to walk back to the courtyard. "It did rain there and could get cold, but the weather was not as unpredictable as this. There was not this persistent damp in the air."

"You must miss it very much." She said as they both moved towards the steps to descend the tower.

"Aye." Gawain answered. "But I can hope that one day, I will be riding my horse back into those fields again."

"I miss my home as well." She said. He placed a hand on her elbow as they reached the courtyard.

"What is it like there?" He asked. He had never thought that a Roman would miss home. Arthur was different- he was half Briton and seemed to partially belong to the woods that he and the rest of the knights hated.

"Oh, it is quite lovely." Valeria said with a grin that caused Gawain's heart to skip a beat. "It seems the sun is always shining and the sky is the bluest shade of blue- not like the grey skies that always seem exist here. And the sea is so beautiful- I would take the sea over the woods any day."

"I would dearly like to see that." Gawain said and they shared a smile. Valeria broke her gaze from his and looked around in surprise. The sun had come back out while they had descended the tower. Gawain shrugged. "It seems this land is full of surprises."

"It is market day, if you would like to accompany me." Valeria offered before blushing, realizing the impropriety of such of a request. But she didn't know when she would have a chance to talk to Gawain again.

"I would." Gawain replied.

He held out his arm for her and after a moment of hesitation she took it and they walked together towards the market. The conversation seemed to flow easily between the two of them. Gawain watched as she smelt some of the wild roses that grew at the entrance to the market. They both laughingly agreed that the roses that seemed to grow all over the country were their favorite part of the country they now lived in.

The afternoon seemed to fade too quickly into night. Valeria made a few purchases at the market and the two of them began to head back to the keep, Valeria's hand never leaving Gawain's arm. Neither were aware of the pair of angry eyes that watched them chatting and laughing together.

**OOOOooooOOOO**

Valeria had just left her room to go find Elspeth and tell her that she would only need a light dinner tonight. It had been their habit during Arthur's visit (and the subsequent banning of females from the dining hall), that Elspeth would collect some food from the kitchen and the two girls would eat in Valeria's room. Valeria frowned as she couldn't seem to locate her maid- Elspeth had been disappearing a bit lately which was unusual for the generally reliable girl. As she rounded a corner, Valeria bumped into an unexpected person. Her step-father Fulvonius.

"Sir! I'm sorry-" But Valeria's apology was cut off as he brutally grabbed her arm and dragged her a bit down a corridor. He pulled up suddenly and turned and slapped her. Valeria gasped- for all that she didn't like him, he had never struck her before.

"Stay away from the Sarmatians girl." He hissed at her and she looked at him in understanding. This was about her being seen with Gawain.

"I didn't –"

"I know you're too much of a ninny for that, but those men are barbarians. They don't have the same emotions as a normal human; a Christian human. They can't even feel love." He snarled at her. Valeria backed up against the wall and could only look at him in fear as he spat more hateful words about the Sarmatians in general and Gawain in particular. She flinched when he claimed that Gawain could, and would, crush her head with one hand.

"I must get to dinner now. The Briton and his barbarians are waiting." He snarled and with one last slap he left Valeria trembling in the hallway. Valeria slumped against the wall, her cheek throbbing and wondering what sort of bruise would be left on her face. She grimaced at the thought that her step-father would probably blame that on Gawain as well.

"Valeria?"

Valeria looked up in surprise at the familiar voice. It was Gawain, and by the anger on his face, he had at least seen the last slap.

"I-"

"I'll kill him." Gawain hissed dangerously as he tilted her head up and saw the forming bruise, causing Valeria to shudder at the tone of his voice. She grabbed his arm instinctively.

"No! Don't! Please Gawain!" She begged. He didn't quite understand why she would ask him that, but he nodded his acquiescence and slid an arm around her back.

"Come; let me take you back to your room." He said in a much more gentle voice and helped her back to her room as she leaned against his sturdy weight. Soon they reached her door and Gawain pushed it open and sat her down on a bench in front of the fire before sitting down next to her. She leaned into him.

"You'll be late for dinner." Valeria murmured. Gawain shrugged.

"I can be late." He looked at her with his heart in his eyes. "I don't want to leave you alone." He admitted and she couldn't help but smile at the concern and affection she saw there. Fulvonius was wrong about Gawain.

"I am glad that you're here." She admitted and they sat in silence for a bit watching the flames dance. Gawain slowly put an arm around her, still feeling his anger for her step father simmering beneath the surface. He didn't know how he would be able to contain it when next he saw the man.

However, the longer they sat together, the less anger he felt as other feelings began to take control. He became acutely aware of her soft, pliant body leaning into his. He felt the softness of her skin under his hand as he almost absentmindedly rubbed her arm. He felt her warm breath float across his chest as she seemed to relax against him.

Gawain couldn't help himself. He turned a bit to the side and tilted her head up. He locked gazes with her for a bit before slowly lowering his mouth to hers. Valeria did not resist his advances. Her eyes merely fluttered shut and her hands jumped to his shoulders to steady herself. The kiss was slow, almost languid, but Gawain felt like he could go on kissing her like this for hours. Valeria had never felt anything like it before. They pulled apart to breathe and stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Gawain-" Valeria started but a bustle at the door had them jumping up from the bench.

"Sorry I'm late Valeria, but-" It was Elspeth who came in the door, carrying a tray full of dinner. Her gaze darted back and forth between the unlikely pair, her eyes wide.

"I should go." Gawain said moving to the door. His hand brushed against Valeria's upon his exit, causing Elspeth's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. Valeria nodded and Gawain left and went to his own dinner.

"What is going on?" Elspeth hissed. "And why do you have a bruise on your cheek? Did that knight do that?"

"Gawain wouldn't do that." Valeria murmured, moving to the tray of food although she had no appetite.

"Oh…_Gawain_ is it?" Elspeth asked with a smirk. Valeria blushed and Elspeth began to laugh.

"Oh stop! What should I do? My step father slapped me just because he saw Gawain escort me around the market!" Elspeth looked at her as though the answer was simple.

"Don't get caught." She told Valeria in a matter of fact voice. Valeria gave a look of disbelief and Elspeth merely shrugged in return. "It's not that hard Valeria. I mean, I've been bedding Lancelot for at least a week and we've never been caught."

"You- you've been…what?" Valeria stuttered. She had never heard anyone talk so frankly about what was considered a cardinal sin. A cardinal sin for women at least. Elspeth sighed.

"Valeria, it's perfectly natural. Besides, it's not like he's the first."

"He's not?" Valeria asked in an uncharacteristically meek voice. Elspeth sighed wondering how to explain it to Valeria- who actually believed in what she had been told.

"No." Seeing the curious look in Valeria's eyes, Elspeth went on, although it wasn't something that she particularly liked to talk about. "It happened a couple of years ago, it was a Roman soldier." She swallowed hard before continuing. "I didn't want to, so he made me."

"Elspeth-"

"So then it was done." Elspeth said with a certain amount of finality in her tone.

"But Lancelot…" Valeria trailed off hesitantly. She didn't want to think that one of Gawain's friends would do such a thing. Even if it _was_ Lancelot.

"Oh, Lancelot." Elspeth said with a smile and a shrug. "It's already done, so why not take my pleasure with a handsome man?" She grinned at Valeria, but Valeria couldn't help but think that the grin was a little bit forced.

"Indeed." She replied, and they turned to eat their dinner, the only sound in the room the crackling of the fire.

**OOOOooooOOOO**

The dining hall was noisy and stuffy when Gawain walked in the door. He scowled a little bit as he saw Fulvonius talking self importantly to Arthur. Gawain felt his lip curl and wanted nothing more than to go up there and show the man how it felt to get slapped around by someone larger than himself. Instead, he sat heavily in the chair next to Dagonet.

"Alright, Gawain?" Dagonet asked. Gawain grunted, not taking his eyes off of Fulvonius. Dagonet was usually one of the most quiet knights (which was part of the reason Gawain wanted to sit with him and not Bors or Lancelot), but Dagonet was concerned by Gawain's unrelenting scowl. That was something much more characteristic of Tristan than the usually good natured Gawain. Dagonet was concerned it was a result of Gareth's death.

"Gawain, we know that this has been hardest for you most of all, but he meant much to all of us." Dagonet said quietly. Gawain broke his stare and blinked at Dagonet owlishly.

"What?" Gawain asked, before it clicked what Dagonet was talking about. He dropped his head a bit embarrassed. "I'm not thinking about that."

Gawain could feel himself blushing a bit and took a big gulp of his ale to cover it. Dagonet continued to look at his friend curiously before shrugging and going back to his own dinner. Gawain started in on his own bit of shepherd's pie and watched his fellow knights. Lancelot seemed to be bragging about something to Bors and by the gestures that both were making, Gawain figured that Lancelot had bedded someone worth sharing the news about. His eyes turned to his commander.

Arthur was paying close attention to what Fulvonius was saying and to an outsider, looked completely at ease with the other Roman. But Gawain was not an outsider. He and Arthur and the other knights had been brothers in arms for the past nine years and all of them have learned by now when someone is uncomfortable- or doesn't trust the person that they're sitting beside. Gawain leaned over to Dagonet.

"So what is the story with this Fulvonius?" He asked, unable to keep his dislike for Fulvonius out of his voice. Dagonet chuckled.

"Apparently, he's close friends with several cardinals back in Rome. Or so he's said at every opportunity." Dagonet said rolling his eyes. Gawain snorted into his ale.

"I believe I heard that somewhere." Gawain said with a laugh. Dagonet smiled in response. "What of the family?" Dagonet looked a bit thoughtful for a moment.

"They say that there was a son, but he was killed by the Woads." Gawain nodded and Dagonet continued, not giving away his surprise that Gawain was interested in this. "I believe that you, Lancelot, and Bors met the daughter in passing."

"Yes. Valeria. But Fulvonius isn't the father, he's the mother's second husband." Gawain said and Dagonet's eyebrows shot up.

"Perhaps it is I who should be asking you about the family." Dagonet said lowering his voice a bit, rather startled that Gawain referred to the girl by her given name. Gawain didn't answer, he just took a big bite of his dinner and chewed it slowly. Dagonet looked at Gawain, a bit concerned by the stubborn set of his jaw which was apparent even though the blonde knight was eating. "Gawain, is there something going on between you and the girl?"

Gawain gave a noncommittal shrug and ignored the penetrating stare of his friend. Dagonet didn't push him further, but was a bit concerned by Gawain's interest in a young Roman girl. In his mind, no good could come from getting romantically involved with a Roman. Even Lancelot wasn't daft enough to try.

**OOOOooooOOOO**

**AN: Dun dun dun...looks like Dagonet suspects that Gawain is feeling something mushy!**

**As always, all reviews are welcome...**


	4. Break My Heart

**AN: as you can probably tell by the title there is some angst in store for our heroes! But don't worry- i'm not big into angst. So enjoy this next update and let me know what you think! **

**Chapter 4: Break my Heart**

Valeria watched the knights as they practiced in the courtyard below. Her step father said that today, the knights would put on a show of their skills for their amusement. Valeria didn't know exactly how amusing it would be- especially if one of them got hurt accidentally. They weren't to use practice swords. She couldn't help that her eyes seemed to drift towards Gawain more often than naught.

Gawain hefted his sword and grimaced a bit. He really didn't know how Arthur let himself get talked into this. A show battle for that fool Fulvonius and his family. He felt his eyes drift up to Valeria and saw that she was looking down at him. He smiled a bit and she blushed before looking down at her lap. Gawain frowned. He hadn't been able to talk to her since they had kissed in her room. He found himself desperately wanting to do both again- talk to her and kiss her.

"Ready to begin?" Lancelot asked walking over to Gawain, his eyes also fixed on the wall of their observers. For a moment, Gawain thought that Lancelot was looking at Valeria, but then realized it was the red headed maid behind her that had caught Lancelot's eye.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Gawain said with a shrug.

"Don't worry Gawain, I'll go easy on you." Lancelot said with a smirk. Gawain resisted the urge to punch Lancelot.

"Knights! Gather round!" Arthur called and the knights gathered in a semi-circle facing the people seated on top of the wall. Fulvonius got up and began to address the knights.

"We thank-you for putting on this exhibition for our entertainment." Bors snorted from his spot in the line causing Fulvonius to pause in his speech. "Hem, entertainment. You shall be paired in groups of two, fighting with the broadsword only. Each bout will last two minutes and the winner will advance to the next round. The winner of the exhibition shall receive this prize."

With that Fulvonius gestured for one his soldiers to hold an intricately carved bow in the air. The knights were unimpressed. They had no desire for what was little more than a decoration- they could tell it would easily snap in a real battle.

"You may begin!" Fulvonius said as he clapped his hands and sat back in his high backed chair. Valeria had to struggle not to roll her eyes. She could practically feel the knight's irritation as the "exhibition" began. She watched a bit half-heartedly as Lancelot and Bors circled each other occasionally clanging their swords together. She couldn't help but smile a bit at their reluctance and apparent indifference to the so-called reward. Her attention was turned back to her sewing after a short while.

Time seemed to march on slowly. Whether she meant to or not, the only bouts that she paid any attention to were the ones that Gawain was a part of. She followed the way that he swung the sword in a graceful arc, for such a large man, she was amazed at his grace and found herself entranced by his movements. When Gawain lost his "match" to Tristan, Valeria found all her interest in the exhibition fade.

Soon, it was over and Tristan was the winner of the match. He was escorted with Arthur up to the wall where the observers were sitting. Valeria, pleased that she had finished her project, quickly stood when she realized that her mother and step father were standing and greeting the winner. She smiled pleasantly at the knight and Arthur and they bowed in response, although Tristan's eyes seemed to linger on the scarf that she had carelessly set on the chair behind her. It was made from sturdy wool with horses interwoven on it, hardly to the taste of a young Roman girl.

From his spot in the courtyard, Gawain watched as Valeria descended the stairs separately from the rest of her family and the company. He quickly went to where he knew she would exit.

"Valeria!' Gawain called as she reached the bottom of the steps. He moved forward to steady her as she slipped a bit in surprise.

"Gawain." She said with a smile. "I was hoping to find you."

"Yes?"

"Yes. I made this for you." She said and unfolded a long woolen scarf with dancing horses embroidered across it. Gawain took it from her hand and looked at the delicate stitch work and recognized the fabric as some that she had purchased earlier that week. He was touched.

"You made this for me? Why?" He murmured, his hand reaching up to rest on her shoulder, one finger wrapping around a lock of her hair.

"I thought that you would like it." She said with a smile. "You talked about how cold it is here, and this will keep you warm. I thought the horses would remind you of your home." She said and Gawain marveled at the gesture. It was probably the first act of kindness he had been shown by anyone, any _Roman_, since he had left his village.

"I shall always wear it." He said and wrapped the scarf around his neck. Valeria laughed at his enthusiasm and he felt a tug at his heart with the sound of her laughter.

"I wanted to talk to you about your step father." Gawain blurted out and was sorry to see all the happiness drain from her face. He glanced around and noticed that they were alone, but pulled her back into an alcove, just to be safe.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I don't believe that Arthur trusts him; he is not an honorable man." Gawain said and was a bit let down when Valeria merely nodded in response. "I'm concerned for you." He said gently taking her hand in his own.

"Don't worry, Sir Gawain. I generally escape his notice." She said with a wry smile. Gawain frowned.

"After what I saw the other day…" He trailed off and released her hand to cup her face, where a slight bruise still lingered. She blushed.

"That was the first time that happened. I do admit, I don't want to stay here with him. I had no choice when we moved here, being so young. But now my mother is a mere shadow of herself, how can I leave her? Even if I could leave, _how_ can I? I can hardly ride around Briton safely…" She trailed off with a pained look in her eyes and Gawain knew she was thinking of her journey to Briton.

"You could go back to the wall with us." Gawain said beseechingly and was pleased to see a hopeful light enter her eyes. "And then from there, you can head to Rome. You must have some family there still. And that far away, you can surely escape your step father's influence." All the hope that was there, seemed to drain away in an instant as Gawain's speech continued.

"You would wish me as far away as Rome?" Valeria asked with a slight tinge of disappointment in her tone. Gawain did not misunderstand her meaning. He couldn't look in her eyes as he continued.

"I can offer you nothing." He said in a low voice.

"But-"

"No, Valeria. It matters not how I feel; not even how you feel. I am a slave to Rome. Unable to marry- any children I have before I am freed would be born bastards. Is that what you want? I know that you believe in your religion. The church would curse any union between us." Gawain said bitterly. Valeria nodded, looking up at him with tears filling her eyes.

Gawain reached out to touch her face again, not being able to resist his desire to feel her soft skin perhaps for the last time. At first, she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, and Gawain felt one of her tears slip through his fingers. Suddenly she pulled away as though realizing that they were just hurting themselves more.

"Valeria…" Gawain started, not sure what he was going to say; would he warn her off or take it back?

"No." She whispered. And before another word could be spoken, she ran from him. Gawain merely watched her go, his heart in his eyes. He was interrupted from his reverie by Bors' loud grunt.

"What was that about then?" Bors asked in a suspicious voice. Gawain looked at his brother knight with a frown.

"None of your business." Gawain said, his usually open eyes shuttering closed. He moved to walk away but Bors grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"None of that now. You'll talk about it and you'll talk about it to me, now. I won't see you turn into a moody little bugger like Galahad. I don't think that we could take two!" Bors said and Gawain couldn't help but laugh. Bors was pleased; Gawain hadn't been laughing much lately. "What's going on with that little Roman?"

There was a moment of silence and Bors noticed the slight softening of Gawain's eyes and the new scarf that Gawain was wearing. Bors internally cursed- he didn't see how this could end well.

"I like her. She's kind." Gawain said. He gave Bors a light push at Bors' disbelieving look. "She is!" He said almost defensively. Bors grinned.

"Whatever you say, Gawain." They chuckled a bit together.

"I know that nothing can happen between us." Gawain said at last and Bors didn't much care for the melancholy look on Gawain's face. Gawain was supposed to be the cheerful, reliable knight. Not one for sullen brooding. Against his better judgment, he would encourage Gawain.

"And why not?" Bors said in his customary bellow. Gawain snorted, but Bors didn't let him interrupt. "Why shouldn't you try to get some happiness on this godforsaken island? Granted, if you had fallen for a nice little red head like my Vanora, it would probably go easier for than you-" Bors manfully ignored Gawain's scoffing disbelief. "-but we can't all be as lucky as me."

"Lucky? You've already got five little bastards Bors…and another on the way! I don't think that many men would consider that lucky." Gawain said with a chuckle. Bors merely gave him a steady look.

"Then most men are idiots. My little bastards and Vanora are the only things that keep me sane on this damn island. And I'd kill anyone who tried to take them away."

Gawain was a little startled by the serious thoughts that Bors was expressing, unused to this side of his friend. Bors was usually rude and loud, Gawain was almost touched that Bors would share this softer side with him.

"Just take what happiness you can get, Gawain." Bors said patting his friend on the shoulder. "Why worry about tomorrow, when you could get stuck by a Woad today?" Bors walked away and Gawain watched him walk back to the others, his normal boisterous attitude quickly returning. Feeling the scarf wrapped around his neck, he came to a decision. He would follow his heart- consequences be damned.

**AN: A little bit of a shorter chapter. But the faster the reviews come, the faster the chapter updates come!**


	5. Mend It

**AN: Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I really appreciate all your feed back :) **

**So this chapter has a fair amount of romantic fluff in it...enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Mend It**

Since Gawain had come to his decision, it seemed almost impossible to get Valeria alone. It had been two days since they had last spoken and he wasn't even sure of what he would say when he did see her. In an act of desperation, he began to haunt the corridor outside of her quarters. Even though his eyes could drink their fill of her, she always seemed to be with her maid Elspeth. He retreated into the shadows at those times, but couldn't help but smirk a little- Lancelot didn't seem to be fairing any better than he was. Finally, Gawain saw her returning alone to her rooms.

"Gawain! What are you doing here?" Valeria asked surprised. She began to fidget when he didn't answer, but just continued to stare at her with an intense look in his eyes. "Gawain?" She asked hesitantly.

But Gawain didn't answer, he just leaned down and kissed her. Valeria "eeped" against his mouth at first. This kiss was nothing like the slow, languid kiss they had shared before. This kiss was intense, as though he was trying to tell her something important.

She didn't know what to do at first, how to respond. At first, she put her hands to his shoulders trying to push him away, but soon, she found herself standing up on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. It seemed all too soon when they broke for air.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you before." He murmured, his hands brushing her dark hair back from her face.

"You told me the truth." She said softly and he nodded.

"Yes. But I'm sorry that it hurt you." He leaned in and kissed her again, slowly this time framing her face with his hands. He could tell that she was innocent, and part of him knew that he should stop this now. But after his talk with Bors, Gawain was loathe to put an end to it. He slid his arms around her back and moved to start kissing her neck.

"Gawain," Valeria murmured and he grinned at the sultry tone her voice had taken, knowing that he was the only man to have ever heard her this way.

For her part, Valeria knew that she should pull away and put a stop to what was going on. But she couldn't. She knew that it was true what he had told her before- there could never be anything permanent between them; she was as much a slave to Rome as he was. But she also knew that she would never have the chance to be with him again. She had loved him since she was thirteen years old. So when Gawain's hands circled her waist and pulled her close to his chest, she did the only thing she could do. She leaned into him and tightened her own grip on him.

"Valeria, I need-" he started, his eyes looking down on her full of lust. Valeria nodded and opened the door behind her and pulled Gawain in after her.

"I've never…before…" She blushed and looked down. He grinned a bit before kissing her, his hands reaching for the clasps of her dress and pulling her over to the bed.

"Shhh. I know." Gawain reassured a smile evident in his eyes.

Afterwards, Gawain tucked her head onto his shoulder as Valeria traced patterns on his chest. She paused in her movements and Gawain looked down at her, their eyes met for a moment before they both started to laugh.

"So that was what all the fuss is about." Valeria said still giggling. Gawain hugged her a little bit tighter to himself and kissed her forehead.

"Can I stay? Just for a little while?" Gawain asked, his eyes soft. Valeria reached up and tilted his head down as she leaned up to kiss his lips.

"Forever, if you like." She said softly. Gawain kissed her again.

"For as long as I can." He said at last, not wanting to lie to her. She bit her lip and nodded before sliding her hand so it covered his heart, feeling the steady thump of his pulse beneath her own pulse.

"Will you come again tomorrow?" She asked almost hesitantly. At that, Gawain smiled.

"Nothing could keep me away."

Valeria smiled and laid her head back down on his chest. She knew that there was no way to take back what they had just done, and she felt a pang of guilt at the pain it could cause her mother. But Valeria shoved that guilt aside as Gawain gently stroked her arm. He would leave soon and she would be alone with what they had done, but that seemed to be ages away.

The situation had no solution that either of them could see; there was no way to be together. It seemed as though they both had silently agreed to make the best of the time they had together before Gawain left.

She knew it was pointless to wish it different, the situation seemed hopeless, Valeria wished that there was a way for them be together and in her head she dreamed of a fairy land where they could love each other openly.

OOOOooooOOO

AN: So a bit on the short side...probably because I am incapable of writing smut. So I hope that you're not disappointed with the abbreviated love scene. As always, review and let me know what you think!


	6. Farewell, My Love

**AN: THanks again for the great support! especially for the last chapter :) I was a bit nervous about that one, but I'm glad that you liked it. I hope that you enjoy this one as well...**

**Chapter 6: Farewell, my Love**

The final week of the knights' stay seemed to fly by for Valeria and Gawain. Every free moment they got, they would sneak away and meet up with each other. Bors merely smirked at Gawain when he would come late to dinner with a happy go lucky smile on his face. Gawain would grin back and all the other knights assumed that he had found peace with whatever had been bothering him. They didn't know how close they were to the truth at that assessment. For his part, Dagonet watched his brother knight a bit hesitantly, still suspecting that Gawain was harboring feelings for the young Roman daughter.

For her part, Valeria's mother had never seen her daughter so happy since they had come to Briton three years ago. Junilla wasn't an idiot. She remembered that the big blonde knight had saved both her and Valeria when their caravan had been attacked- and he was the one that Valeria had turned to for comfort back then. And now, she saw how her daughter looked at the Sarmatian. She looked at him as though he was the most precious thing in the world.

Her own second marriage had not been a happy one; but her first one had been. Junilla remembered what it was to be in love and would have rather not married again; except her parents had demanded it of her to form a strong political alliance. Junilla was uncertain how to act. She knew that nothing could come of a relationship between her daughter and the formidable Sarmatian warrior, but to break it up would bring unwanted attention from Fulvonius; which Junilla had learned to avoid at all costs. She decided to wait. The knights wouldn't be there for very long and Junilla began to silently count down the days.

OOOOooooOOOO

As he stood next to his horse, Gawain adjusted the stirrup absent mindedly for the fortieth time as he looked over to where Valeria stood with her mother. He grinned at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Knights! To horse!" Arthur called out and all the knights mounted their steeds in preparation to leave. However, much to Arthur's annoyance, Fulvonius came over to talk to him. Gawain took the opportunity to look over at Valeria for one last, long look.

He watched her watching him, trying to memorize every feature, every look that she gave him. He tried to tell her with his eyes what he'd been unable to tell her last night- their last night together. He cared for her greatly and wished that they _could_ have a future together. He could tell that she understood; her eyes were telling the same story.

Their eye contact shattered as Arthur called out the command to ride, a bit more tersely than usual. Gawain nodded at her and followed his brothers out of the gates. He looked back at her and saw her watching him leave. Not caring for propriety, he raised in hand in farewell, pleased when she returned the gesture.

OOOOooooOOOO

"Well Sir Gawain was certainly sorry to leave." Elspeth said to Valeria as the two of them walked back to Valeria's room later that day.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Valeria said in what she hoped was a haughty tone. Elspeth merely laughed at her.

"Oh come on! You know that I saw that little wave that happened between you two just now. Don't try to deny it!" Elspeth continued on. Valeria smiled.

"Sir Gawain and I did become…friends during his stay." Valeria admitted unable to keep a slight blush from forming on her cheek.

Elspeth was about to answer, but the words stuck in her throat as she threw open the door to Valeria's room. It was full of wild roses. It seemed as though they were everywhere, covering every surface of the room. She cocked an eyebrow at Valeria.

"I'd think a little more than friends." She said dryly causing Valeria's blush to deepen.

"It looks like a fairy land." Valeria said stroking the petals of one of the closest flowers.

"How do you like that! I bed Lancelot for weeks and get a slap on the bottom for thanks and you give Gawain a couple of kisses and he fills your room with flowers! What would he have done if you had actually finished it?" Elspeth asked with a laugh.

"Hmmm," Valeria murmured turning her face away from her friend, sure that the look in her eyes would give her secret away. As much as she loved Elspeth, her grandfather had always told her that the best way to keep a secret was not to tell anyone. She couldn't fault his logic on that.

Looking at the roses brought her thoughts back to Gawain. She knew that this was his way of saying good bye to her. She felt her heart twist a bit at the thought of never seeing him again, but she couldn't help but be touched by this final gesture of affection.

"Come, let us dry these flowers and make a sachet." Valeria said grabbing the nearest bunch. "Ouch!" She cut herself on a thorn.

"Oh! Let's clean that out right away." Elspeth said.

The moved to clean out the cut on Valeria's palm together. Valeria winced as Elspeth prodded at the cut to make sure that there were no thorns in her skin and then poured water over the cut. She then wrapped it with a bandage and Valeria couldn't help but think that the roses really symbolized the past few weeks.

"It might leave a slight scar." Elspeth said with a frown.

"It's to be expected." Valeria said with a slight smile. The flowers smelled sweet, perfect. Just like her feelings for Gawain. But there was a downside to their affair- the scar would always remind her of that. "Come, let us _carefully_ dry the flowers to make a sachet."

Elspeth sighed, but followed Valeria's lead.

**AN: Don't worry...this is not the end! **


	7. Life Goes On

**AN: So here is the next chapter! It is a bit longer than the last two so I hope that you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 7: Life Goes On**

Gawain took a sip of his ale and smiled at his brother knights. Galahad was losing to Lancelot at a game of dice while Bors was bickering with Vanora in a corner. He couldn't help but wonder what Valeria would make of this place. He snorted a bit into his drink, not being able to picture his innocent Roman amongst the revelry. However, his snort drew Galahad's attention.

"You want the next game Gawain? Perhaps you can defeat Lancelot." Galahad asked with a slight scowl in Lancelot's direction. Gawain merely shook his head.

"Nah, I never like to play Lancelot at dice." Gawain took another big sip of his drink and shrugged. "Besides, you know that he weights the dice."

Galahad scowled at Lancelot and moved to take his money off the table but Lancelot caught the younger knight's hand in his own.

"Now, now, pup. You've got to learn to see the game through to the end."

"C'mon Lancelot." Gawain interceded. "Let Galahad off the hook." Gawain waved his hand in the direction in some of the legionaries in the corner. "Save your tricks for those Romans."

"Like you, Gawain?" Lancelot said with a bit of a smirk. Gawain froze and gave Lancelot a dark look. He stood up quickly, pounding his empty mug on the table.

"Shut it Lancelot." Gawain growled. Galahad looked at Gawain in surprise.

"Gawain, what's wrong?" Galahad asked of the usually easy going knight. When Gawain merely continued to glower at Lancelot, Lancelot answered.

"Don't worry, Galahad. Gawain is just sorry to lose his little Roman harlot." Lancelot said grinning.

"Don't call her names." Gawain practically snarled at the other knight and Lancelot looked at Gawain in surprise.

"You actually care for the girl?" Lancelot asked in surprise.

"Wait, Gawain was with a Roman?" Galahad asked in disgust. Without any additional warning, Gawain launched himself at Lancelot. "Gawain!" Galahad yelled in surprise and moved to pull his friend off of Lancelot, but to no effect. "Bors! Dagonet!" Galahad called and the other two knights glanced over and quickly moved to help Galahad separate the two fighters.

"You stop it right now!" Bors yelled in his customary growl. "Gawain, you know better than to start trouble in Vanora's place!" He snarled as he hoisted Gawain off of Lancelot. Lancelot lunged to attack Gawain but Dagonet quickly caught him before he could reach Gawain.

"What brought this on?" Dagonet asked.

"Gawain was with a Roman?" Galahad asked managing to keep most of the disgust out of his voice. Bors sighed with impatience and forcibly pushed Gawain down into a seat as Gawain growled a bit.

"Lancelot, stop messing about other people's women!" Bors cried. Lancelot merely rolled his eyes.

"Lancelot-" Dagonet said hesitantly. Lancelot had the look in his eye that meant he was looking to start trouble.

"You would know Bors…how's Vanora lately?" Lancelot asked and was promptly tackled by Bors.

"You leave Vanora out of this!" Bors bellowed, causing the woman in question to come over to investigate. She sighed at the sight of Bors pounding on Lancelot and Dagonet trying to pull them apart. Gawain was taking a big gulp of ale and looked about ready to join the fight.

"Stop it at once!" Vanora yelled and Bors paused long enough for Dagonet to pull Lancelot away from Bors' fists.

"Van, love-" Bors started but was interrupted as Vanora smacked his hand with a wooden spoon. "Bloody hell, woman! That hurt!"

"It was meant to!" She snapped and fixed all of them with a deadly glare that made all of them take an involuntary step backwards. "You lot know better than to start brawling in here! You just got back from patrol so you can _stop fighting_!" Bors looked a little shame faced, knowing how much she worried when he was away from the wall.

"Lancelot said-" He mumbled and Vanora huffed out an impatient sigh, although her eyes did soften a bit.

"You should know better than to listen to that berk!" She said tartly and turned to Lancelot. "And you! Keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you!" She whapped Lancelot on the top of his head with the spoon too, eliciting a low groan from him.

"I'll take him to the healing rooms." Dagonet sighed and Vanora gave a smile and a pat on the arm to the patient knight, before walking away to refill a couple of pints that appeared to be empty.

Bors shook his head and pulled himself up from the floor onto the bench across from Gawain and Galahad. The three knights sat in silence for a while until Galahad's curiosity got the best of him.

"Gawain, were you really with a Roman girl?" Galahad asked. He watched as Bors and Gawain shared a look that confirmed the truth of the statement before Gawain even had to answer. Gawain sighed and turned to Galahad.

"Yes." He said and a dark look came to his eyes causing Galahad to involuntarily recoil. Gawain's fierce look faded a bit when he saw Galahad's look. "She was pleasant, sweet."

"But a Roman?" Galahad asked skeptically.

"Look pup, don't go saying anything that will start another fight." Bors said. "I'm in the doghouse enough already with Vanora tonight." Galahad grimaced and Gawain snorted.

"Do you think you'll ever see her again?" Galahad asked and watched his brother knight as a soft look came in his eyes and a smile curled up the edges of his mouth. Galahad was a little disturbed as that was the same look Bors gave Vanora when he thought no one was looking. This Roman must be very special to Gawain, however hard it was for Galahad to wrap his mind around that.

"Doubtful." Gawain said before taking another swig of his ale. "But no use of being melancholy, pup. Let's go see if some of the lovely ladies of the house have some free time." He said and stood up walking towards where the serving wenches were displaying their wares. Galahad looked at Bors a little surprised. Bors shrugged.

"Life goes on, pup." He said, but Galahad could see the slightly worried look in Bors' eyes as Gawain talked to a whore with dark hair and dark eyes and led her out back.

"I guess." Galahad said before following Gawain's lead. There was no use in getting upset about the past he rationalized. Besides, if Gawain didn't think that he'd ever see the girl again, it was unlikely that any of them would see her either.

**OOOooooOOOO**

Valeria felt a bit sick that morning as she woke up. She groaned and rolled over. She usually didn't feel great in the mornings, but lately it seemed like she couldn't even move. All she'd been able to eat were a few bites of bread each day. The oddest part was that it would pass for a few hours and then come back with a vengeance by the mid day meal. She had just managed to get herself out of bed, when Elspeth came in the room carrying a breakfast tray.

"You sure slept for a bit today!" Elspeth said cheerily, putting the tray down. Turning back to Valeria, she noticed Valeria's ashen complexion and that the other girl was still in her shift. Elspeth frowned. "Are you sure you're alright, Valeria? Are you sure that you don't have a fever?"

"I'm sure…or at least this is unlike any fever that I've ever known." Valeria answered in a shaky voice. She swallowed hard past some of the bile that had just risen in her throat. "What is that smell?" She asked in a disgusted tone. Elspeth looked over at the tray with a frown. There was some porridge and fresh fruit and some sausages. She took a sniff- it smelled normal to her.

"I think it smells fine…" Elspeth trailed off as Valeria turned from grey to green and dashed over to the chamber pot in the corner of the room, throwing up what little was in her stomach. "I'll just move this into the hall." Elspeth said and hurriedly put the tray in the hall before returning to help her mistress.

"Thanks Elspeth." Valeria said wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Elspeth nodded and looked at Valeria a bit hesitantly.

"Valeria, I feel stupid even asking you this, but is there any possibility that you could be pregnant?" Elspeth felt like kicking herself at even suggesting such a thing. But as the silence stretched between them Elspeth felt her jaw dropping in disbelief and she grabbed Valeria's arm.

"Valeria?"

"I-it might be." Valeria answered blushing.

"But with who?" Elspeth asked shocked. Valeria looked at her a bit confused.

"Gawain."

"But I thought that you and he just kissed…" Elspeth trailed off before it clicked. "The roses, that wool you were working…Valeria! Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was nobody's business but mine and his." Valeria answered a bit sharply. At Elspeth's hurt look she softened her tone. "Besides, what would you have done?"

"I would have given you the brew to drink the morning after." Elspeth said matter of factly.

"The brew?" Valeria asked with a bit of a laugh. Elspeth nodded seriously.

"Of course- don't tell me you don't know!" Elspeth cursed a bit under her breath. "What do they teach you? The brew to prevent situations like this!"

"Oh." Valeria said and rubbed at her stomach absently. Her romantic side felt elated to know that her time together with Gawain would result in a tangible proof of their feelings for each other, but she knew that this was really not a cause for celebration. Even if she could hide her pregnancy from her parents until she gave birth, she wouldn't be able to hide the baby once it was born. Elspeth's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"We could still try the brew- it is more dangerous the later that you try it. But-" Elspeth stopped at the look in Valeria's eyes. "Valeria- you do know that it would be suicide for you to actually have the baby?"

"I suppose." Valeria said reluctantly, lowering her eyes.

"You have to get rid of it." Elspeth said harshly.

"I can't!" Valeria burst out unexpectedly. "I can't. I know that it's stupid, but I love him." Valeria rubbed her stomach a bit again, marveling at the fact that there was another life in there. "I'll hide it for as long as I can, but I can't get rid of it, I just can't. Will you help me? Keep this secret?" Elspeth nodded with a sigh.

"You know I will." She said and two sat in silence pondering the future. "Want to try to break your fast now?" She asked.

"Yes, let's. But leave the sausage outside I think." Valeria said with a wan smile. Elspeth nodded and went outside to get the tray, dreading what the future was going to bring, but realizing that their path was set.

**OOOOooooOOOO**

**AN: I thought a lot about this chapter and while part of me hates having Gawain go with someone else, I figured that if they thought that they would never see each other again, he would not be living a life of celibacy! Please review and let me know what you think :) **


	8. And On

**AN: There is a little bit of angst in this chapter, on both sides. I hope that you enjoy it and thanks for sticking with this story! **

**Chapter 8: …And On**

The knights returned to the wall disheartened. Another one of their company had fallen to the Woads. This time, it was Bedivere- the oldest and wisest of all the knights. He was often who they went to settle petty disputes and it felt like a cloud had descended on the company with his loss. Bedivere's death was especially hard for Galahad, who was from the same tribe as Bedivere and had often looked to Bedivere as a father or older brother. After arriving, most of the company went directly to the tavern after tending to their horses. The need for a strong drink burned in them all.

Gawain watched as Galahad drank drink after drink, seemingly not even tasting the ale that he drank. Absently, he wondered if that was how he appeared to the other knights after Gareth's death just over seven months ago. He went to go sit with the younger knight thinking it would be unlikely that Galahad would meet someone like Valeria to help him out of his torpor.

"Galahad, care for some company?" Gawain asked sitting down and not waiting for an answer.

"Guess so." Galahad grunted in reply and then proceeded to completely drain the last of the cups of ale in front of him. "You gonna drink that?" He asked Gawain pointing at the cup that Gawain was holding.

"Yes." Gawain said and proceeded to drink the remaining ale in one gulp. Galahad couldn't help but grin at that move.

"You prat." He said playfully. The ale that he had drunk before had begun to kick in.

"Don't worry, pup. There's more ale to be had." Gawain gestured to one of the serving girls to bring over more ale.

"Don't call me pup." Galahad muttered and Gawain looked over a bit concerned at the true irritation that was in Galahad's tone.

"Come now, don't be like that." Gawain said leaning back in his chair. He sat forward when he noticed the dark look that passed over Galahad's features. "What's really wrong, Galahad?"

"Bedivere is the one who first called me pup." Galahad replied, looking down at the cup in his hands.

"Ah." Gawain said in understanding.

"How did you deal with it when it was Gareth?" Galahad asked in a low voice, not looking up. At first Gawain tensed a little bit, but soon relaxed as a serving girl came and refilled their cups.

"Lots of things helped." Gawain said after a moment of silence. Galahad gestured for Gawain to continue. Gawain sighed. "Well, for the first couple of days, ale was a great comforter."

Galahad raised his glass to Gawain before taking a drink.

"But that only lasted for so long. Then someone reminded me that remembering the good times we shared together was the best way to remember my brother." Gawain took his own drink as Galahad put down his cup at last. He looked at Gawain curiously.

"Who told you that? Bedivere?" He asked with a forlorn look on his face. Gawain chuckled a bit darkly.

"No. It was Valeria." Gawain replied. At Galahad's blank look, Gawain sighed and continued. "I had told her that when her brother was killed in a Woad attack several years ago."

"Valeria? Your Roman girl?" Galahad asked. Gawain grunted in reply and Galahad gave a sloppy grin. "Did fucking a Roman make it better too?" Galahad asked laughing but stopped when he realized that Gawain was giving him a dark, dark look. "Sorry." Galahad muttered.

"Look, any other time and I would wipe the floor with you for speaking that way about her, but I'll let it slide this time." Gawain said taking another long drink.

"It's been six months Gawain. Did you really care for her that much?" Galahad asked curiously. Gawain merely nodded in response and changed the subject.

"Do you remember the time that Lancelot got caught with his pants down with the baker's wife?" Gawain started and Galahad laughed.

"Yes, and then Bedivere somehow convinced the baker that Lancelot was- what was it again?" Galahad asked.

"That Lancelot thought she was a seamstress and was there to get his trousers mended." They both made eye contact before bursting out in laughter again.

"What about that time Bedivere convinced Kay that if he drank a glass of Vanora's special brew he'd go blind?" Galahad said with a snort, taking a sip of said brew. Gawain grimaced.

"That was horrible! We had to deal with Kay sober for weeks-"

"Yeah, until Bors got so sick of it, he eventually sat on Kay and poured the brew down his throat." Galahad said through his laughter. Soon the two of them were trading stories and laughing the night away in memory of their friends who had gone on before them.

OOOOoooooOOOOO

Valeria sighed as she got out of the bed and went to pick a dress for the day. She didn't think that it would do any good though. Her stomach had finally gotten too big to hide in her clothes. She had pretended to be sick for the past couple of days with Elspeth's help, but she didn't think that could last for the rest of her pregnancy. Elspeth had urged her to go to her mother, and now Valeria thought she would do just that.

"Valeria?" Elspeth said coming quietly into the room. The sickness that Valeria experienced seemed to have left after a month or so, but lately, Valeria didn't have as much energy as she usually did and Elspeth was careful not be too loud when coming into the room.

"I'm up Elspeth." Valeria replied and fastened the last clasp on her gown. She sighed and turned to her maid. "There's no use hiding it now, I've gotten too big."

"Aye." Elspeth said. "What are you going to do?"

"I will do as you suggested last week…I'll go to my mother. Surely she will have some solution that we have not yet thought of." Valeria bit her lip, not wanting to think of the other possibility, that her mother would kick her out or kill her. Valeria tasted blood and stopped biting her lip.

"Well, let's head over." Elspeth said at last getting out Valeria's cloak. "Put this on." She said.

"What for? I won't need that in the hallways." Valeria asked bemused. Elspeth rolled her eyes.

"Yes you will, we don't want anyone to see you in the hall and tell Fulvonius about your- ahem- _situation_." Elspeth said. Valeria rolled her eyes right back and walked out the door without answering. Elspeth groaned and followed.

OOOoooOOO

Junilla sat in the library looking over the ornate prayer book that she had brought from Rome. Her first husband had commissioned it for her as a wedding present and she treasured her little book of hours more than any other possession. She knew that something was troubling Valeria and after having lost her son so violently, she felt like her daughter was now drifting away.

Fulvonius had wanted to send Valeria off last year to be married, but Junilla had begged him not to. For once, he had relented and let her have her way, but now Junilla thought that maybe Fulvonius had been right. A knock at the door interrupted her from her thoughts.

"Mom?" Valeria asked hesitantly and Junilla's eyes widened in shock. Valeria was obviously with child.

"Elspeth, leave us at once. Valeria- what have you done?" She whispered and felt her heart shatter as Valeria looked down at the floor. "Who is the father?" Junilla asked and was unsurprised when her daughter would not answer her. She decided not to press the matter.

"I didn't know where else to come." Valeria said, hesitantly entering the room and sitting on the chair across from her mother.

"I'm glad that you have finally come to me with what was bothering you." Junilla said.

"You knew?"

"I knew that something was bothering you. But I did not guess this. At least, I did not allow myself to think this." Junilla said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry that I disappointed you." Valeria said hanging her head.

"There is no way to end this pregnancy? It looks like you are very far along, daughter." Junilla said with a frown.

"I don't want to end the pregnancy, I want to keep the baby." Valeria admitted. Junilla put her head in her hands. "I do love the father." Valeria said.

"Hmmm…" Junilla said noncommittally. She was glad to know that her daughter did know who the father was and seemed to have feelings for him. Suddenly a plan began to form in her head, a plan that would allow Valeria some measure of happiness.

"Mom?" Valeria asked after a while. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think, that you should go back to Rome." Junilla said at last.

"Rome? But what good would that do?" Valeria asked surprised. Junilla smiled.

"You would have the baby here and then we would send you back to Rome, saying that you were widowed. No one would have to know the truth." Junilla explained.

"But what would happen in Rome? Wouldn't they know that I'd never been married?" Valeria asked, her head spinning at this new plan. Junilla waved her hand in dismissal.

"Why would they? We send you back to live with your grandmother; your father's mother. We can always tell her that the letter with news of your marriage must have been lost. Such things happen." Junilla said in a firm voice.

"Live in Rome?" Valeria asked in a strained voice. On the one hand, she had wanted to go back to Rome, but it negated any hope that she still harbored that she would see Gawain again, that he would learn about his impending fatherhood, and that they could have a life together.

"Yes, you know that she wouldn't ask too many questions- she'd be so happy to see you again and to have a great-grandchild…you know that she would love the baby." Junilla said but before Valeria could answer, the door swung open with a crash.

"So this is the thanks that I get for all that I've done for you, you ungrateful whore!" Fulvonius bellowed as he raged into the room.

"Fulvonius!" Junilla cried shocked as she stood up from her chair.

"This is your fault too, woman! If we had sent the little slut away when I had wanted to, if we had married her off when we had a chance! But now…" He trailed off and both women quailed a bit at the look in his eyes.

"We'll send her to Rome-" Junilla started.

"No. I will not send her to Rome with some flimsy story that you try to sell to your former mother-in-law." Fulvonius said in a cold, calm voice. In some ways that was even worse than his yells. They both braced themselves for what was coming next.

"I-I-I'll just go to my room." Valeria stuttered and stood up to leave.

"You stay where you are!" Fulvonius said and Valeria froze. She shrank back as Fulvonius advanced on her. "I'll just have to beat the bastard out of you, you slut!" And with that he reached back and slapped her hard.

"No!" Junilla shouted and moved to step between her husband and daughter. Fulvonius shoved her to the floor and then moved back towards Valeria. Junilla grabbed his leg, causing him to fall. "Run! Valeria! Run!" Junilla cried and Valeria ran from the room.

"You dirty whore!" Fulvonius said and turned his beating on Junilla instead.

Valeria ran down the hallway sobbing, not stopping until she got to her room. Elspeth jumped up at seeing Valeria's state, but is stopped from saying anything as Valeria closed and bolted the door in a panic.

"What happened? Is that a bruise on your face? Your mother didn't seem like she was going to hit you!" Elspeth exclaimed in shock.

"Fulvonius!" Valeria managed to gasp out loud, before a pounding was heard at the door.

"You get out here this instant, you slut!" They heard Fulvonius shout from the other side of the door. Valeria shuddered and slid to the ground with her back to the door. He banged on the door for a bit longer before stopping. "Fine! Stay in there! You stay in there, but you'll get no food! I'll starve you out! And once you're out I'll finish what I started, you whore!"

Valeria couldn't help but cry as she heard his steps fade down the hallway. It seemed all hope was fading. She couldn't last in here for long without food. And then, where would she go if she did manage to get by Fulvonius? Rome? How could she get that far without money or safe passage? Everything seemed hopeless.

OOOOooooOOOO

Junilla pulled herself off the floor after Fulvonius fled to try to catch up with Valeria. She knew she had little time before she herself would be back under his thumb. She had to get things set in motion. Trotting down the hallway, she searched for Gaius. Of all the servants that they had in Briton, she knew that Gaius would remain loyal to her and Valeria. She made it out to the courtyard and saw Gaius looking at the Bath's wood pile to ensure that there was enough to last the next week for the hot baths.

"Gaius!" Junilla called and he turned abruptly at the panic in her voice.

"My lady?" He asked curiously and then his brow darkened as he saw the bruises on her arms and face. He opened his mouth to protest her treatment, but Junilla waved a hand to quiet him.

"Peace, Gaius. I must speak to you about Valeria. She is in trouble." That caught his attention and Junilla carried on quickly. "We must send her to Hadrian's Wall at once."

"The wall?" Gaius asked confused. "But-"

"Valeria is with child and we must get her away to Rome. Fulvonius is furious. We can send her to the Wall- to Arthur- and he will arrange for her safe travel to Rome." Junilla said in a rush.

"But to get to the wall, it is a hazardous journey, my lady." Gaius said hesitantly. Junilla took his hand in her own.

"I would not ask this of you if Valeria's very life were not at stake. We must get her away- within the next few days. I will find a way to send word to Valeria and tell you more as soon as I can. Will you do this one last service for us?"

"I will." Gaius said without any more hesitation in his voice.

Junilla nodded and walked back to the stairs. She would get word to Valeria tonight somehow and then they would send her away. She inwardly cried at losing her daughter in such a way, but it was the only way. If Fulvonius had his way, Valeria would be dead- or as good as dead. And she could not allow that. Junilla knew that Arthur was an honorable man, he would do all in his power to do what was best for them all.

**AN: Please review! **


	9. Surprise

**AN: Thanks for all the positive support on the last chapter! I really appreciate it. I have tried really hard to make this as historically accurate/believable as possible (although i did substitute some accuracy for some fluffiness!). I hope that you like the next chapter too :) **

**Chapter 9: Surprise **

Valeria sat in the back of the carriage with Elspeth wringing her hands together. They had been on the road for about two weeks, trying to reach Hadrian 's Wall. Every day seemed to bring more stress as she feared that they would be attacked by Woads at any moment. So far, they had been lucky, but she feared that their luck would run out before they reached the Wall. Elspeth pulled back the flap covering the window and glanced out at the passing countryside allowing fresh air to come into the carriage.

"It seems like these woods are never ending." Elspeth muttered. Both girls had been sick for most of the journey, Elspeth was unused to travel and Valeria was sick due to nerves and her pregnancy.

"I hate the forest." Valeria responded. It seemed like their conversation had been a variant of this for the entire journey. "I hope that Gaius calls a halt soon."

"Me too." Elspeth said swallowing hard. Just as they had begun to fear that the journey would never end, they heard Gaius call out.

"Hadrian's Wall! Ahead!" They could feel the carriage begin to pick up speed as the driver obviously wanted to get behind the safety of the wall as much as the girls did.

"Ugh!" Elspeth groaned in agony as the speed picked up and the carriage began to jostle the two girls worse than before.

"You alright in there, Misses?" Gaius called.

"We're fine Gaius." Valeria managed to gasp out. She only hoped that they would get to the wall before the Woads appeared and started to attack them.

As they got closer to the Wall and the attack of the Woads didn't appear as imminent, she allowed her thoughts to wander. She wondered if her mother was going to be alright or if her step father was going hurt her again. Part of her wondered if maybe she should've insisted that her mother come with her. She had tried to convince her mother before she left, but Junilla had been firm in her refusal.

Valeria was also worried about seeing Gawain again. She knew that while she loved him, he might not feel the same way as her. She realized that she might've just been a pleasant distraction at the castle or a temporary comfort as he dealt with the death of his brother. When she pictured his face and the way that he looked at her, she wanted to believe that he had cared for her- truly cared for her. But she couldn't allow herself to believe that, he might not even remember her.

"Don't worry." Elspeth said taking Valeria's hand as they heard Gaius calling for the gates to be opened.

"What if he doesn't remember me?" Valeria murmured.

"He will." Elspeth said squeezing her hand. Valeria merely shook her head, managing to pull herself together as the carriage came to a halt in the courtyard.

OOOoooOOO

Arthur frowned as he saw the carriage roll into the courtyard and the gates close behind it. He recognized the crest as belonging to Fulvonius. He wondered if it had anything to do with the unintelligible letter that he had received a few days ago. Fulvonius was going on about someone or something being a disgrace of some sort. Arthur shook his head remembering the despicable way that Fulvonius had mentioned his step-daughter and the curses that Fulvonius had flung at her.

Arthur had wondered if the man was suffering from some sort of brain fever. The girl had seemed perfectly respectable and quiet. Just like any other Roman girl of her social standing. Truth be told, he hadn't really seen much of her during his stay at the castle and was curious why Fulvonius was writing to him about her. He had meant to answer the letter, and the arriving carriage was a reminder to him that he had put it off for too long. He went down to greet the new arrivals.

"Come now, Miss Valeria. Allow me to help you down." Arthur heard an older man, obviously a trusted servant, say. He looked down at the scene and saw a striking girl with red-hair already out of the carriage, a slightly greenish tint to her skin. Arthur looked back towards the carriage and saw a girl getting out. Obviously Roman and obviously pregnant. He cursed.

It was apparent by how far along the girl was that it had happened during his stay at their castle. And Arthur guessed what neither Valeria's mother nor step father had guessed- one of his knights had fathered the girl's child. Arthur's thoughts immediately went to Lancelot- Lancelot would be the only one of the company who would be foolish enough to try to mess with an upper-class Roman girl. As he went down to greet the carriage, and offer the girl his protection, he cursed Lancelot under his breath for putting him in this impossible position.

OOOOooooOOOO

From his spot on the battlements, Galahad noticed a Roman carriage approaching the gate. His eyes narrowed in curiosity. There were only two or three riders accompanying the carriage which was highly unusual. Generally, the knights were called to escort any higher ranking Roman officials who thought to travel on the island. As the carriage drew nearer, he could see the crest on the side. It was unfamiliar to him, but he heard Lancelot comment on it.

"That looks like the crest from the Fulvonius estate." Lancelot said glancing at Gawain and Bors who were also on watch that day on the wall.

"Aye." Bors said with a frown. It was a highly unusual situation and they found themselves getting on their guard.

"Wonder what the problem is." Gawain muttered a bit uneasy. The four knights walked to other side of the battlement and looked down into to the courtyard below. Elspeth practically jumped out of the carriage and shook out her long red hair. Galahad whistled.

"What a rare beauty that one is." He said with a grin. Lancelot smirked at Galahad and the younger knight groaned. "Really?" He asked in disbelief.

Gawain ignored his brother knights as they bickered about Elspeth. He kept his eyes on the carriage knowing that if Elspeth was there, then Valeria wouldn't be that far behind. But when he saw her emerge from the carriage nothing could've prepared him for what he saw.

"Bloody hell." Bors breathed beside Gawain. He gave Gawain a hearty clap on the shoulder, unable to say anything else. Gawain seemed to have temporarily frozen at the sight of an obviously pregnant Valeria.

"What?" Galahad asked, breaking off his dispute with Lancelot at the unusual tone in Bors' voice. He glanced down below and noticed the pregnant Roman and looked back and forth from Gawain to the girl a few times before it clicked in his head. "Oh."

For once even Lancelot temporarily didn't have anything to say about the situation. They all watched as Arthur approached the carriage and the look on their commander's face told them all that he realized that one of them was the cause of the girl's predicament.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that." Lancelot commented. Gawain did not reply.

**AN: Please review!**


	10. Reunion

**AN: Sorry about the delay! I was on a mini-vacation and they lost my luggage (still no word!) so I was a little bit distracted. I hope that you enjoy this chapter- part 1 of this story is almost over (all the pre-movie stuff = part 1). :)**

**Chapter 10: Reunion**

"My lady." Arthur said with a bow as he reached where Valeria was standing beside the carriage, wondering what she should do.

"My Lord Artorius." Valeria said with a somewhat awkward curtsy. "I would be most in your debt if you allowed us to lodge here."

"For as long as you need." Arthur said seriously. "Come, allow me to escort you into the keep." The pair walked in silence for a little bit until Arthur broke the silence. "My lady, I do not mean to be rude, but am I correct in assuming that one of my men is…er…responsible for you present situation?"

Valeria merely blushed in reply and watched a bit alarmed as Arthur's expression darkened further. He began to talk, but she felt like someone was watching her and looked up to the battlements, where she met Gawain's eye. Valeria could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she maintained eye contact with him. But it seemed as though when she blinked, Gawain disappeared. She turned her attention back to Arthur.

"I assure you, Lancelot will have to answer for his behavior." Arthur said. Valeria shook her head, a bit confused while Elspeth merely snickered behind the pair.

"Lancelot, sir? I don't follow." Valeria asked quietly and Arthur stopped, turning her so that she met his eyes.

"Isn't Lancelot the, ah-" Arthur broke off and cleared his throat. Valeria was a bit surprised to see that he was blushing a bit.

Arthur's embarrassment was cut short though as Gawain came skidding to a stop before them. Elspeth took his arrival as a chance to go back and supervise the unloading of what they had managed to pack before fleeing Fulvonius' house. Gawain bowed quickly to Arthur and turned to Valeria with a look that clearly showed his heart. Arthur looked between the two of them and was at a bit of a loss. Gawain was so large and rugged looking and Valeria so petite and delicate that he never would have imagined the two of them together. Arthur gave Gawain a disapproving look as the knight took Valeria's hand and began leading her away.

"Sir Gawain." Arthur said in a hard voice, causing the pair to stop. Gawain turned and met Arthur's eyes, flinching slightly at the disapproval that he saw in his commander's gaze. "Please escort the lady to the guest room three doors down from mine." Gawain nodded and Arthur left the pair alone together- there was no need for a chaperone anymore.

"Come." Gawain said and continued down the hallway towards what would be Valeria's room for the time being. They walked in an awkward silence for a bit until Valeria broke it.

"It's yours." She said in a nervous whisper. Gawain stopped walking and pulled her close, tilting her head up and smiling down at her.

"Shhh. I know." He said causing Valeria to blush and drop eye contact. He sighed. "Why did you keep it though? Valeria, you've ruined your life." He took a step away from her.

"How can you say that?" She asked, hurt. He looked back at her in surprise.

"You're pregnant with the bastard child of a Sarmatian slave and you can honestly ask me that?" Gawain asked incredulously. Valeria felt tears come to her eyes.

"I don't care about that." She said waving her hand impatiently as though to dismiss all of what he was saying. Gawain groaned.

"Valeria, you can't just ignore that! People will be horrible to you- you don't know what it's like having everyone look down on you and treat you less than human. Sometimes, you can start to believe it yourself." Gawain sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Wasn't there, isn't there something you could do?"

"Nothing you can say can convince me to get rid of this child." Valeria said in a strong, cold voice. Gawain looked at her, surprised at her tone. Taking in the stubborn tilt of her chin and her stance, he sighed reaching out to pull her to him. She resisted a bit at first, but he was insistent and sooner rather than later, Valeria was ensconced in his arms with her head resting on his chest. He reached up to stroke her hair.

"I just want what's best for you." He said quietly and shivered when she rubbed her cheek against his tunic. He felt his grip on her tighten imperceptibly. "I don't want you to have to go through the hardships that I do-"

"Gawain, I love you." Valeria interrupted him abruptly and Gawain fell silent. He held her at arm's length for a bit, staring at her in disbelief.

"Valeria..." He said but trailed off as she wrapped her arms around his waist and he couldn't help but wrap his own arms around her again.

"I've loved you since I was thirteen, Gawain. Don't you think that Elspeth told me of ways to stop this when she found out? I couldn't do it. I love you and I love this child." Gawain leaned his head on top of hers and pulled her closer. "I don't care if it's ruined my life." She murmured a bit defiantly. Gawain chuckled a bit at her childishness, still somewhat in shock that she should love _him_.

"Alright." He said, releasing her from the embrace but taking her hand as he continued to lead her to her room. "We'll figure something out."

Gawain was at a loss as to what exactly they would figure out, but he knew that he did care for her as he had never cared for another before in his life. If she was willing to give up her life as a Roman to be with him, then he would be there for her and their child.

After Gawain kissed her good-bye and left her in the room that Arthur allocated her, she sat down heavily on the bed and thought about what had transpired between her and Gawain. She also thought about her mother's plan to send her to Rome; she could still follow that plan and have Arthur arrange her transportation to Rome. But she thought of Gawain and the look in his eyes when he had first seen her she knew that she couldn't leave him…even if it was the sensible thing to do.

**AN: As always- please review! It really helps!**


	11. A Whole New World

**AN: Thanks for the great feedback! I actually did think about having Gawain be all hesitant about her being pregnant but I thought that would be a bit out of character for Gawain. He always seems like a knight who would take responsibilty, especially if he really did care about the girl (which in my AU he does!). Anyway, Chapter 11 is nice and long so I hope that you like it!**

**Chapter 11: A Whole New World**

Valeria and Elspeth walked in the market together and Valeria bit her lip at the whispers that seemed to follow in their path. Elspeth glared as some of the people at the Wall didn't try to contain their insults to whispers. Valeria tried to ignore it and go about her business. She would have to get used to it, she didn't have the time to wait until people accepted her presence.

"How much is this?' She asked of one merchant regarding a bit of fine cloth. She was hoping to start making some baby clothes soon and thought that it would be perfect for the baby. The merchant sniffed at her before turning away. Valeria moved to walk away, but Elspeth pulled her back to the stand.

"I believe she asked how much it was." Elspeth said in a growl that would've made even Bors proud.

"Ten denarii." The merchant spat at the two girls and they looked at each other askance for a moment- the price was too high.

"Three." Elspeth shot back. The merchant snorted.

"You insult me! I would never let it go for so little."

"How about five?" Valeria asked. The material was a dark blue and as she was hoping that the baby would have Gawain's blue eyes, it would be perfect. The merchant narrowed his own muddy, bleary eyes.

"Well, for such a _fine_ lady…" He said sarcastically and both girls stiffened at his tone. "How about ten?" Elspeth narrowed her eyes and was about to burst out in anger, but Valeria put a calming hand on her friend's arm.

"How about we don't do business with you and take our money elsewhere?" Valeria said coldly and began to walk away.

"I can't believe that worm!" Elspeth hissed in Valeria's ear. "Five was too good for the small amount of fabric we were asking!" Valeria shrugged, but they were interrupted when the merchant called them back.

"Alright, I'll let you have it for seven." He said as though he was doing them a favor. Both girls stopped walking but didn't turn around. Valeria looked over her shoulder and gave the man and his wares an assessing look.

"Three." She spat a bit viciously and the merchant blanched.

"But you said five before!" He squawked indignantly. Valeria shrugged.

"I changed my mind." He glared at her but she merely glared back, she knew that if she let this merchant cheat her or shame her into over paying, she would be over paying forever at the Wall. If she and Gawain wanted to be able to live off of his pay, she could not allow that to happen. Until she heard from her mother about her accounts, they would only have Gawain's salary.

"Fine, five." He said grudgingly. The two girls turned slowly and walked back to the stall. The merchant thrust the cloth at them with a scowl. Valeria looked at it for a moment without taking it.

"And the thread." She said in a tone that brooked no argument. The merchant looked like he was going to say something else, but just ended up narrowing his eyes and placing a spool of thread on top of the cloth. Valeria smiled sweetly and gave him the five coins. "Thank-you." She passed the purchase to Elspeth who placed it in their bag. The two girls linked arms and walked down the rest of the market, occasionally stopping to look at other merchandise.

"Alright, that was pretty brilliant." Elspeth said once they were out of earshot. Valeria chuckled.

"I only hope I can do that well with vegetables and meat once I start having to purchase that." Valeria said on a sigh.

"Why would you have to do that?" Elspeth asked surprised.

"Well, I can hardly expect that Arthur will allow me to stay in the keep forever. Especially after the baby comes." Valeria looked over at all the stalls she had never taken notice of before in markets. It seemed that they were more than half the market!

"I hadn't thought of that." Elspeth said with a frown.

"I'm sure that it will be easy for you to stay there, Elspeth. You are a first class maid- Arthur would be mad not to accept you in his service." Valeria said allaying her friend's fears. Elspeth's face cleared a bit, but then she glanced at her friend, concern flashing in her eyes.

"But what of you? How will you even cook a meal? You've never done that before…and where is this place that you will be staying?" Elspeth had come to grips easily that Valeria had decided to stay in Briton rather than Rome since Rome had always seemed so foreign and far away to her. But she hadn't thought a lot about how Valeria would live at the Wall. She just couldn't imagine someone who had always been her superior having to cook and clean as though a servant.

"Gawain is looking for a house near to where some of the other knights' ladies have lived. He said that he would find someone to help me adjust to my new duties." She shrugged. "Apparently he is talking to her right now."

"Well that was very thoughtful of him." Elspeth said with a bit of sly smile. "And when did he tell you all this?" She asked casually.

"Oh, last night." Valeria answered absently before catching herself and blushing as Elspeth laughed. "Alright, alright. You've had your laugh at my expense." Valeria gave her a good natured shove. "And what of you? How is _Lancelot,_" Valeria asked saying the knight's name in a sing-songy voice.

Elspeth shrugged.

"I wouldn't know." She said airily. At that Valeria laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be too long before you know again." Elspeth gasped in shock and then both girls began to giggle.

"I think I've been a bad influence on you!" Elspeth declared. Valeria rubbed her stomach a bit absently with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Aye." She said softly before grinning. "And I couldn't be happier."

OOOOooooOOOO

"C'mon Vanora! Just do this one little favor for me?" Gawain begged in Bors' and Vanora's kitchen while Bors sat on a bench with children one through five playing at his feet as Vanora nursed number six.

"I don't know Gawain, a high born Roman lady? What am I supposed to do with someone like that?" Vanora asked a bit impatiently. Why couldn't Gawain have just settled down with one of the nice girls at the Wall?

"She's a quick learner." Gawain said imploringly. At Bors' snort he couldn't help but turn red.

"I'm sure." Vanora said drily. "What do you even want me to do with the girl? Teach her to sew? Cook? What?" She asked after a pause.

"She's knows how to sew." He pulled off the scarf that Valeria had made for him. "She made this for me." Gawain said and Vanora shifted the babe in her arms and grabbed the scarf from Gawain.

"We'll see about that…" Vanora trailed off before her eyebrows rose in surprise. "This is very fine work." She said holding it up to the lone candle to get a better look at the stitches. "Very fine indeed." She murmured. Gawain saw his chance and jumped at it.

"She really just needs to learn how to manage a house, you know…cook and clean and the like. And I thought who better than Vanora to teach her, since you do such a wonderful job at both." Gawain said with a winning smile. Vanora couldn't help but smile in return and Bors gave a belly laugh at Gawain's flattery, causing Vanora to turn a glare on him.

"Just what do you know about it, Bors?" She asked in a dangerous voice. The children all stopped their rowdy game and slunk out of the kitchen to avoid their parents' ire. Bors cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders.

"Just that you're the best at it Van, luv." He said with an ingratiating grin of his own. Vanora blushed a bit and ducked her head a bit, covering her unusual bashfulness by kissing Six on the head.

"She won't be any trouble, Vanora." Gawain continued giving Bors a light kick.

"She seemed to be a nice lass." Bors chimed in with a shrug. Vanora narrowed her eyes and looked between the two knights who were obviously trying to sweet talk her. She sighed in resignation.

"Alright, bring her around the house and we'll see if I can't make a proper Sarmatian wife out of her." Vanora finished with her nursing and handed the baby off to Gawain. He went to hand Six to Bors but Vanora interrupted. "You'd better get used to that Gawain." She said with a grin before calling the other children out.

"You and Daddy gonna fight?" Three asked hesitantly peeking her face into the room. Before Vanora could answer in the negative, Gawain laughed and Bors kicked Gawain in the shin.

"Watch it! Man with a baby!" Gawain exclaimed, dodging a second kick. Vanora sighed.

"Give it five minutes." She muttered with a dark look at Bors, who tried to look back as innocently as possible.

OOOOooooOOOO

"Vanora!" Gawain called knocking on the door of Vanora's house a few days after his discussion with her. He winced as he heard shouting from within and the distinct sound of a baby crying. He looked back at Valeria and could see the trepidation in her eyes. He tried to smile at her, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"If she's busy…" Valeria trailed off, obviously intimidated. Gawain shook his head and took her by the arms.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright." He gave her a warm smile and Valeria couldn't help but smile back. Something about his smile was infectious. "Besides, I'll be right down the lane with Bors and the others working on getting our house all ready for human habitation." They both glanced back at the still unopened door and Gawain frowned.

"Vanora!" He called again, banging loudly on the door.

"WHAT?" The door was flung open by a snarling Vanora. She looked from Gawain to Valeria and back again with a crying Six on her hip.

"We can come back if now's a bad time…" Valeria said hesitantly. Vanora merely snorted.

"It's always a bad time when you've got children." Vanora said darkly. Gawain looked a bit afraid at the chaos that he could observe in the house over Vanora's shoulder.

"Well I'd better go. Bye love." He said and gave Valeria a quick kiss on the cheek before bolting from the house. Vanora chuckled darkly again.

"Give the man an axe and tell him to face hoards of Woads, no problem. But face him with a couple of kids, he heads for the hills." Vanora glanced at Valeria out of the corner of her eye and could see that the girl looked rather nervous. "Well come in, lovely. We'll never get anything done with you outside."

She stepped back from the entrance allowing Valeria entry into the house. The house consisted of four rooms- kitchen, main room, and two bedrooms- and was considered rather spacious at the Wall. Although, to Valeria, it hardly looked like enough room for a family with six children to live. But it was clean and she could smell a pleasing odor coming from the pot over the fire. The smell reminded Valeria of the present she had insisted on bringing. Gawain had said it was unnecessary, but she had insisted.

"I brought this as a thank-you. For helping me." Valeria said and handed Vanora a rather large honey cake that she'd bought at the market. Vanora smiled.

"No need to thank me yet, dearie. Especially since I thought the first thing we would do was try to get the children in order for dinner."

Both women turned to look at the five older children who running amok all over the house. Valeria gave Vanora a look of disbelief. Vanora chuckled.

"One! Two! Get over here now!" Vanora yelled and Valeria was surprised when the two older looking children came bounding over to their mother.

"What is it, Mum? Who's that Roman lady?" They asked almost in unison. One shoved her brother at the indignity of talking in unison. Two grunted and shoved her back.

"One! Don't shove your brother…and Two! You know better than to be rough with a young lady!"

"She started it!"

"I don't care who started it…"

Valeria watched a bit overwhelmed as she realized that the children were actually _named_ One and Two. She did a quick count and guessed the one on Vanora's hip was called Six. As Vanora tried to get One and Two to take the younger three to the well to wash their hands and face before dinner, Six began to cry. Valeria had a moment of inspiration.

"Vanora, why don't you let me take Six and see if I can settle her down." She interrupted the battle between Vanora and the two children. Vanora gave her an odd look, but before she could answer, Valeria continued. "It would be a shame if the baby cried so much you didn't get a chance to enjoy the honey cake I brought."

One and Two shut up instantly and turned to look at the Roman lady that they had showed only a mild interest in before. Vanora cracked a grin as she instantly saw what Valeria was up to.

"Oh, yes dear. That would be a shame." Vanora said and moved to hand the crying baby to Valeria.

"Cake?" One asked interestedly.

"You brought cake?" Two asked, his grubby hands grabbing onto Valeria's skirts as he looked up at her with a puppy dog face. Valeria looked down at him with a smile.

"Yes, Vanora told me how much all her children love cake." Valeria grasped Six firmly, Vanora adjusting her awkward grip slightly, and moved her head away from the baby's flailing arms. Valeria feigned indifference.

"We do! We do!" One said and joined her brother to grab Valeria's skirts. Valeria sighed.

"I don't know. Vanora also said that her children, especially the oldest ones, were such a big help with all the work she has to do around the house…" Valeria trailed off and looked at the kids innocently. They were stuck and they knew it. One gave the Roman lady a penetrating look that, had Valeria known Vanora longer, was eerily reminiscent of her mother.

"Alright then." One said with a smile and she pulled Two away from Valeria's skirt and outside to the well. Vanora chuckled a bit and took Six, who was hungry, back. At Vanora's assessing look, Valeria began to blush a bit.

"Well done, dear." Vanora patted her shoulder. "You might just make it here after all." And with that Vanora walked away and left Valeria to supervise One through Five's wash.

OOOOooooOOOO

Gawain sighed and rubbed his lower back a bit as he walked back from his and Valeria's future house back to Vanora and Bors' house. He grimaced a bit. The house was going to take a bit more work than he thought to get up to standard. It also didn't help that, while he was helping, Kay was muttering snide remarks under his breath about how it would never be good enough for any _Roman_ lady.

He approached Bors' house somewhat cautiously and was a little afraid by the fact that he couldn't hear anything through the door. He frowned and glanced back over his shoulder. Bors had wanted to talk to Kay a bit (which would probably consist of Bors giving Kay a few smacks for his attitude) before going back home. After the scene he had witnessed earlier, Gawain was worried about leaving Valeria with Bors' brood of bastards for too long. Gawain couldn't see Bors and so he turned, frowning, back to the door. He shrugged and knocked tentatively.

The door opened to a smiling Vanora and Gawain was surprised to see the five oldest children gathered around Valeria on the floor by the fireplace. She seemed to be telling them some sort of story and they were all enthralled by the tale and how the words sounded when spoken in her smooth Latin accent and the gestures of her hands that accompanied the tale. Vanora led Gawain in, gesturing for him to be quiet, and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he took in the scene. As the story came to a close, the children and Valeria noticed Gawain standing in the doorway.

"Gawain!" Valeria called with a smile and he moved to help her up from the floor.

"Uncle Gawain!" One cried happily. Gawain smiled at One as he helped steady Valeria and put an arm around her.

"You all look very pleased." He said as Two came over and hugged Valeria around the waist.

"You can't take her away. We want her to stay with us." Two said with a pout and Valeria couldn't help but grin at Two's words. One quickly joined her brother, her smile from before fading into a suspicious look.

"You're taking Valeria away?" One asked and Gawain felt himself quail a bit. One was known all over the fort for her temper tantrums. To his surprise, Valeria just chuckled and stroked One's hair back, smoothing the riot of dark curls. Gawain had seen One bite Galahad's hand for attempting the same move, but this time she just ducked away and gave Valeria a bit of a scowl.

"No, darling. Gawain is just making a house for us so we can live closer to you and your family."

"Really?" One asked suspiciously, looking up at Gawain.

"Really." He confirmed tentatively and was surprised when One merely smiled at him. Before anything more could be said, Bors came into the house.

"Where're my little bastards?" He called out and all the kids came to jump around their father.

"Alright kids, off to bed with you." Vanora called before they could get too riled up. The kids groaned, but acquiesced. Bors looked after them surprised as they marched into the second bedroom that they all shared.

"What happened to my little bastards?" He asked in a bewildered tone. Vanora chuckled.

"The little beasts have charmed by Valeria." Vanora said moving to the cooker to serve up some stew for Bors and Gawain.

"Temporarily, I'm sure." Valeria said dryly and both women laughed a bit as their men sat down, a bit bemused by their easy friendship. Bors and Gawain sat down at the table and Vanora promptly put some bowls in front of them and sat beside Bors as Valeria sat beside Gawain, leaning her head on his shoulder. "How's the house looking?"

"It's going to take a bit more work than I thought." Gawain admitted. Bors grunted and Vanora smacked his arm.

"Don't grunt at the table!" He gave her a saucy look before pushing his stew aside and pulling Vanora onto his lap.

"I'll grunt when I want." He said before giving her a fierce kiss. Valeria looked up at Gawain a bit surprised but Gawain merely shrugged and gave her a look that told her he was about to do the same. Before he could, Vanora and Bors pulled apart and Vanora slid off of Bors' lap onto the bench beside him again.

"We saved you some of the cake." Valeria said and got up to bring over the rest of the cake for Bors and Gawain.

"Thanks, lass." Bors said. Soon, the two knights were finished with their food and seeing Valeria yawn, Gawain decided he should take her back to her room at the Wall. Vanora saw them out and then returned to sit with Bors. "How'd it go, love?" He asked after Vanora sat back down, stealing a bit of his cake. She grinned at him cheekily.

"Gawain was right, she's a good girl." Bors nodded and took a drink of ale gesturing for her to continue. "She has a natural way with children- even our brood took a liking to her."

"Really? Even One?" Bors asked. Their oldest child seemed to be the most skeptical of strangers.

"Especially One. She begged the girl to come back tomorrow- not realizing that we'd already planned for her to come over all week." Vanora admitted.

"One? Wanted to spend time someone she hasn't known since she was a babe?" Bors asked surprised. Vanora shrugged.

"I was as surprised as you." Vanora said. "Tomorrow, the girl's gonna help me make dinner." Bors groaned, remembering the last time Vanora had tried to teach someone to cook. It had all ended in tears.

"Go easy on her, luv." Bors said with a chuckle, Vanora gave him a glare.

"That girl had no right to be in the kitchen!" She hissed. "She just wanted to make eyes at you!" Bors laughed aloud at that one and she smacked him. "She was!" Vanora insisted with a pout.

"I do love you Vanora." He said with a soppy look. No one at the Wall would ever have guessed what happened next: Vanora blushed.

OOOOooooOOOO

"So how did it go?" Gawain asked Valeria with his arm around her, half supporting her as they walked back to the keep. She yawned again.

"It went well, Vanora seemed to think I was good with the children." She said with a shrug. Gawain laughed.

"From what I saw, you were a bloody miracle worker with those kids."

"Well, I am exhausted. They have so much energy!" Valeria exclaimed. "I feel like I could sleep for a year after tonight, but I know that I've got to go back again tomorrow."

"Yep, tomorrow's the first time you're gonna try to cook dinner, right?" He asked squeezing her tight a bit. Valeria bit her lip.

"Yes." The pair walked in silence together for a bit before Valeria spoke again. "You know, I don't think I would mind having more than one child, but Gawain?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think I can handle six!" Gawain released her and began to howl with laughter at that and Valeria couldn't help but giggle.

"Deal." He said after gaining control of his laughter. He gave her a speculative look. "So long as we can continue to practice." He grinned a bit at the deep blush that covered her face.

"Deal." Valeria said and slipped her hand into his.

**AN: Please review! It helps the updates come along faster :)**


	12. Some Old, Some New

**AN: thanks for the reviews! I really liked writing for Bors and Vanora- I keep wanting to give other knights a bigger role, but Bors is so much fun to write for! Well, this chapter is one of the longer ones too so I hope that you enjoy it :) **

**Chapter 12: Some Old and Some New**

Gawain felt more restless than usual on this patrol. He knew that he had been lucky to have had enough time to get the work done on the house before he left. Unfortunately, he had only been able to spend a couple of days there before being called for patrol duty. He really wished that he could've had more time at home; it had looked as though Valeria was going to give birth any day now and he didn't want to be so far away when that happened.

"Thinking about your lady love?" Lancelot said reigning in his horse next to Gawain's as they surveyed the forest before them. Gawain glanced at Lancelot out of the corner of his eye before smiling when he saw the teasing look in Lancelot's eyes.

"Aye." Gawain replied. "I could be a father right now." Lancelot smirked.

"Ah, Gawain. Don't be too disappointed when the baby ends up looking like me." Gawain snorted at Lancelot's assessment.

"I don't think that will be a concern." Gawain said with a grin. While still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Valeria _could_ love him, he had no doubt that she _did_. And he knew that she had never been with another.

"I know, you're lucky I have such good looks to pass down. Just ask Bors." Lancelot said as Bors trotted by.

"What are you on about?" Bors growled.

"Just about how I'm going to hit Lancelot with my axe." Gawain answered as Bors looked between the two of them suspiciously.

"They were talking about how Gawain is a traitor." Kay broke in, causing Gawain to glare at the older knight. Seeing Gawain's look, Kay shrugged. "Well you are."

"Look Kay, I'd appreciate it if you kept your opinion to yourself." Gawain said with a dangerous look on his face.

"Well _I'd_ appreciate it if _you _didn't take up with some…some…_Roman_!" Kay hissed.

"Look, Arthur is a Roman and he's our commander." Gawain said in a reasonable tone. He really wanted to beat Kay bloody for the constant belittling comments that he made about Valeria, but he knew that while they were on patrol was not the time.

"Arthur is Arthur." Kay gave an ugly grin. "I'm not about to mix my Sarmatian blood with Arthur's!"

"Look Kay, Valeria is my woman, and that's _my_ child that you're talking about." Gawain growled.

"Leave the girl out of it." Bors said giving Kay a bit of a shove. Kay shifted to straighten himself on his horse and gave Bors a dark look. "It's Gawain choice."

The argument was interrupted as Tristan rode back to where the knights were waiting with a more sinister than usual look in his eyes. They saw a Woad arrow clutched in Tristan's hand and met each other's eyes- each promising with a look that their argument would not affect their commitment to protect each other in battle.

"Woads." Tristan reported to Arthur who was talking to Galahad, Dagonet, and a few other knights a bit apart from them.

"How far?" Arthur asked. An arrow landed in the ground in front of Percival's horse, causing the horse to rear and Percival to struggle to stay on the horse.

"Not far." Tristan said with a shrug.

"Knights! To arms!" Arthur said with a bit of a glare at Tristan as several more arrows landed in their midst. As one, the knights wheeled around to meet their foes as the Woads came rushing out of the forest. The clash of weapons was loud on the air.

"Ruuuuss!" Bors let out a bellow as he cut a swath through the path of Woads with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, Gawain saw Galahad fall off of his horse and tried to move in that direction to help his friend.

Gawain didn't get far as he was caught by the blunt end of a shield and fell off of his own horse, slightly dazed as he hit the ground. Before he had time to fully come to his senses, a Woad warrior jumped on top of him with a knife poised to stab Gawain in the heart. Suddenly, the Woad fell forward, dead. Gawain pushed the body off and saw Kay making his way over through the battle, his dagger lodged firmly in Gawain's would-be killer's back. Gawain pulled out the dagger and threw it back to Kay, who quickly caught it and used it to dispatch another Woad.

"Galahad?" Gawain yelled at Kay, asking about the status of their friend.

"Lancelot and Percival are over there." Kay called back and Gawain nodded, swinging his axe at an approaching Woad.

He felt the impact of an arrow on his armor and winced. That would form an intense bruise, but he was thankful that it had not been a couple of inches in any direction, or else he would have had a much worse wound.

For a while, there was no time to think as the battle raged on. Gawain couldn't keep track of how many Woads he had dispatched since the fight began. He felt his arm grow sore and wondered how many more of Woads there were in the woods, fresh and waiting to attack. He dropped his axe to the forest floor and with a challenging bellow, he pulled out a long knife. It was much lighter and gave him much more freedom of movement.

He felt someone at his back and swung around, poised to strike, but the blow was parried. Gawain caught the Woad's counterstrike in his free hand and twisted the offender's arm behind his back before slitting his attacker's throat with his knife. He vaguely heard a female Woad give a harsh cry before jumping on his back, grabbing him around the throat. Before any permanent damage could be done, he flipped her over his head and pinned her to the ground with his knee.

Gawain looked down dispassionately as the woman snarled at him. Her eyes were red rimmed and she had the blue war paint all over her face and body. Her lip was curled back she was yelling at him in her language. He stabbed her with his knife and quickly moved on. Soon, the knights began to outnumber their attackers and the Woads seemed to melt back into the forest that they had sprung from.

"I hate it when they do that." Galahad muttered. Gawain turned to his friend, glad to see that he was alright. He clapped his hand on Galahad's shoulder. Galahad winced. "There's a bruise there."

Gawain nodded and gave a grunt of understanding as he rolled his shoulder, working out a bruise of his own. He walked over to where he dropped his axe earlier and picked it up, wiping the blood off of it on the body of one of the dead Woads. He grimaced a bit as he strapped it back on his belt and went to clean off his knife, eyes still watchful as he looked for the other knights and any Woads that weren't quite dead.

"Alright Gawain?" Dagonet called from where he appeared to be wrapping a bandage around Lamolak's arm.

"Just some bruises. Nothing that can't wait." Gawain called back and turned his attention back to gathering his weapons and calming his horse. Gawain heard Dagonet call out similar questions to the other knights and was pleased that it appeared everyone was more or less alright.

"Knights, those of you that are able, begin to pile the bodies of the fallen together and get ready to burn them before we go." Arthur commanded. Gawain groaned a bit and heard Galahad curse beside him. They wanted to leave this place as soon as they could, before the Woads could mount a counter attack. But Arthur disliked leaving the fallen Woads to fester in the open air of the forest.

"Stop complaining. The faster it's done, the faster we can leave." Percival said with a shrug. They all moved to create the pyre and before long, they had mounted their horses and were on their way back to the Wall.

OOOOooooOOOO

Valeria looked at the lumpy white mush in her hand that she was supposed to somehow turn into bread. It didn't look quite like it had when Vanora had showed her how to make it a couple of days before, but she shrugged and added a bit more flour. She smiled as it seemed to make the mush resemble Vanora's mush a bit more. She frowned a bit when the bread seemed to stick unrelentingly to her hands. Valeria sighed. Her back had started to ache early that morning and she'd been unable to sleep.

"Knock, knock!" Vanora called out as she and the kids came over to Valeria's house. Valeria turned with a smile that quickly changed to a grimace.

"Hello! I started to make some bread." Valeria said gesturing at her efforts, even though some of it was still stuck to her fingers. Vanora came over to inspect the effort.

"It looks good, dear." She glanced over at the younger children who had gone straight through into the other room to play with the carved animals that Gawain had made for the upcoming baby. One, however, had sat quietly at the kitchen table. Vanora narrowed her eyes at her oldest. "What are you doing there, missy?"

"Nothing." One said sullenly. She had been punished the other night for pushing her brother. Neither woman had been able to find out what Two had been taunting her about.

"One, why don't you come over here and help me with this." Valeria asked and One nodded, sullenly coming over to the counter. Vanora sighed and went into the other room. She'd always thought she'd have a few more years before One became so temperamental.

"It looks like bread." One said poking half heartedly at Valeria's efforts. Valeria beamed.

"I know! Isn't it great?" Valeria asked. "So now we punch it down, right?" One nodded and Valeria took a moment to examine One's face. She felt a twinge of pain, but pushed it away. "What's wrong, One?"

"I hate Two." One said viciously and punched the bread down a bit.

"Why?"Valeria asked glancing over her shoulder where Two was playing with Vanora and the rest of the brood. One scowled and punched the bread harder.

"He's mean." She muttered and Valeria was a bit alarmed at the ferocity of her attack.

"Let's just knead that bread a little bit more." She said sliding it from One. They worked in silence for a bit and Valeria noticed that One was looking at her curiously. "What?"

"Do you think Uncle Gawain will be happy about the baby?" She asked.

"Of course." Valeria said and rubbed her stomach a bit with her floury hand. The baby seemed to jump at her touch. One's face was scrunched up in thought. "Why?"

"Two said that Lancelot was my father." One whispered and looked up at Valeria with tear filled eyes. "Is he?" Valeria frowned, wishing that Vanora was with her in the kitchen. She decided to stall…One did look too much like Lancelot for it to be a mere coincidence, but Valeria was sure there was more to the story than she knew.

"Sweetheart, Vanora and Bors love you very much."

"So you think that _he's_ my father too!" One hissed with narrowed eyes.

"One, all I know is what I told you." Valeria replied, before she bent over in pain. One's eyes went round in worry. Then Valeria's water broke and One knew what was going on.

"The baby's coming!" She yelled and Vanora ran into the room. Seeing the mess, she turned to Two.

"Two! Run and get Elspeth and Aethel the midwife." Two nodded and ran out. "You lot, clean up the kitchen and put some more water on the boil. C'mon Valeria…Let's get you into bed." Vanora moved Valeria to the bedroom.

"Why did it have to start now?" Valeria whimpered. "Gawain just left three days ago…why couldn't he have been here?"

"I know, dear. It's hard. We have to manage sometimes without them. But you just need to know that your young man would want to be here with you." Vanora said and helped Valeria get situated in the bed.

"I know…" Valeria groaned in pain and paled a little as she saw the blood on her skirt as Vanora set it aside. "If I die-"

"Don't talk like that!" Vanora admonished. Valeria sighed.

"Just tell Gawain that I loved him." Valeria said.

"You tell him when he comes back." Vanora said sharply. "There's nothing to birthing babies…I've done it six times, you should be able to handle this one." Valeria nodded a bit hesitantly but decided to trust her friend.

"Did I miss it?" Elspeth asked bursting into the room. Vanora shook her head.

"Come on, why don't you help One in the kitchen. Aethel isn't here yet."

"Alright." Elspeth said. She was already familiar with Valeria's house. While Valeria was really good with the children and was catching on to cooking quickly, she wasn't very good at keeping the house tidy yet. Elspeth, as a loyal friend, would come over once a week to make sure that everything in the house was in order.

Aethel arrived shortly after Elspeth and examined Valeria, ensuring her that everything was progressing as it should. After a few hours the sun went down and Vanora took the children home before she herself had to go to do her shift at the tavern. Elspeth stayed with Valeria and it seemed to both girls that the labor was never going to end. Aethel assured them that everything was fine, but when the sun came up the next morning, Aethel was a little concerned.

"Perhaps we should continue to rub your stomach and try to coax the babe out." She suggested.

"If the babe is anything like its father, then it probably fell asleep." Valeria muttered. The other women in the room chuckled a bit.

"Come on now, let's give it a try."

They tried for a bit, and it seemed like Valeria's assessment had been true. Aethel then gave her a brew to try to convince the baby to come. All it did was make Valeria a bit nauseous. Vanora came back to help and offer her support, leaving the children with her older sister Madge. They decided to have Valeria walk around the room a bit. That seemed to do the trick; the baby was finally ready to come. And it was a boy.

Valeria blinked sleepily as Elspeth held her the baby, who already resembled his father.

"A fine, big baby boy!" Aethel announced happily. She went to work making sure that the afterbirth was delivered safely as well, knowing that it was the most dangerous moment of any birth. She sat back with a smile. Everything seemed fine.

"He's beautiful." Valeria said as Elspeth handed her the baby.

"He's going to be big like his father." Vanora said with a smile. All the women chuckled.

"What are you going to name him?" Aethel asked as she began to gather her things to go back to her house.

"I don't know." Valeria said still looking in wonder as her son blinked up at her.

"How about Alwyn?" Vanora asked. They looked at her a little askance. She sighed, not noticing their look. "I've always loved that name. But Bors didn't really like it." She shrugged as Elspeth, Valeria, and Aethel all silently sided with Bors. "So we just named them after numbers." They all laughed a bit.

"Gawain and I talked about names, but we didn't decide on anything." She didn't mention that they'd both thought about naming the baby after one or both of their brothers if it was a boy, but looking at the little sweet face, she felt like he should have his own name. She grinned up at Vanora. "Maybe, we'll take the letters of the alphabet." They all laughed.

"Well let's just move little A into his crib." Vanora said taking the sleeping baby and placing him in his crib.

"He's an angel." Elspeth said as she went over to watch the baby sleep. She was glad that Valeria hadn't taken her advice all those months ago. She looked over to her friend and saw that she was asleep.

"We should go." Vanora said in a whisper.

"Tell her I'll be back in a couple of days to make sure she's alright." Aethel said with a nod and left. Over the course of the birth, she had reassessed her opinion of the Roman girl. Really she had assisted as a favor to Vanora after the Roman midwife had refused to assist, since Valeria was birthing a Sarmatian baby. But the girl had been brave. The birth had been long and painful, but she had gotten through it with much less whining than many a woman at the wall.

"I'll stay here, Vanora." Elspeth said.

"Are you sure?" Vanora asked.

"Yeah, I'll put the place in order a bit and stay for the next few days." Elspeth shrugged.

"Are you sure you can be away from your duties?" Vanora asked and was surprised when Elspeth grinned.

"Arthur's orders. Before he left he told me to take a few days to help her out with the baby."

"That man." Vanora said chuckling and shaking her head. "If those Woads knew what a soft heart he really had, we wouldn't stand a chance."

**AN: THat last line of Vanora's always makes me think of Guiniever basically seducing Arthur to get him to stay (I'm not a big fan of Guinivere...). So maybe the Woads eventually do learn what a softie Arthur is! Anyway...more to come! Review please ;) **


	13. Welcome Home

**AN: Here is the next chapter! We'll see Gawain meet his son for the first time. This chapter is a little bit shorter than the last two and bit fluffy! You are warned...fluff is coming! Also, we're getting close to the end of part I. Part II will pick up at the movie (but still be posted in this same story). Hope that you enjoy it!**

**Chapter 13: Welcome Home**

Gawain had never been so anxious to see the Wall as he was at the end of this patrol. They had been gone for over two months so he knew that he had missed the birth of his first born. He only hoped that Valeria and the baby were alright. The knights rode into the gate and Gawain looked for her from a top his horse, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Bors!" Vanora shouted, coming to great Bors, the children running with their mother to greet their father.

"Van, love!" Bors said quickly dismounting and moving to embrace Vanora. He took Six from her arms and lifted the baby high in the air.

"Everyone alright?" Vanora murmured and Bors nodded.

"Aye. We all rode back together." He replied and leaned in to give Vanora a kiss on the cheek.

Gawain watched Vanora greet Bors as he dismounted his horse and led it towards the stables. While he was happy for Bors, he felt his heart twist a little bit. Where was Valeria? Handing the reins to a stable boy, Gawain decided to go to his house and see what was waiting for him there.

"Where's your little woman, Gawain?" Kay asked sarcastically. "Don't think she got sick of the life already and left the Wall, do you? Or maybe she just couldn't handle birthing a Sarmatian bastard and chucked it?"

Gawain scowled at Kay, but there was a very real possibility that Valeria had died during the birth. He had been worried about it while on patrol, she was so tiny he worried that if the baby took after him, her body wouldn't be able to handle the stress. Instead of responding to Kay's taunts, he hurried to the house.

Pushing open the door to the house that he and the knights fixed up, Gawain paused in the doorway. It felt like someone still lived here. Working to gather up the courage to step over the threshold, he had to keep telling himself that Vanora would have stopped him if Valeria had died. He went inside and quickly crossed through the main room to peek through the doorway to the bedroom, feeling relieved as he did.

Valeria was asleep in their bed and the baby was asleep in the crib beside the bed. He watched them both from the doorway for a bit but didn't dare to get closer to her. He grinned at how peaceful and beautiful Valeria and the baby looked. He glanced down at his bloody armor and tunic and decided to take a bath before waking them up. He didn't want his child to see him for the first time covered in blood and gore.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Valeria jerked awake to the sound of banging coming from the other room. She tensed in fear for a moment before grabbing the knife that was under the mattress and running into the other room. What she saw there had her stop in shock.

"Gawain." She murmured and dropped the knife to the floor before running to her knight. "You're back!" She cried happily with a laugh and he grinned at her, abandoning his efforts to cook as he reached out to catch her and spin her around happily.

"I take it you're glad to see me." Gawain said as she framed his face with her hands.

"You have no idea." Valeria said before standing on her toes and moving to kiss him. Gawain bent down and they shared a soft kiss.

"When was the baby born? Is it a boy or a girl?" He asked.

"A boy, he came three days after you went out on patrol." Valeria said with a wry smile leaning up to kiss him again.

"I'm sorry I missed the birth." Gawain said after the broke apart. Valeria didn't answer for a bit, not knowing what to say. She didn't want to be dishonest with him, but she also didn't want to make Gawain feel any worse than he already did.

"I understand." She said at last and they were quiet for a moment, just looking at each other and quietly taking in each other. Suddenly, Valeria grinned. "Come, let's go see the baby."

"Yes." Gawain said an answering smile on his face. They walked quietly into the bedroom and Valeria pulled Gawain to the edge of the crib. Gawain looked at the baby hesitantly. "He's so small."

"He's actually very big for his age." Valeria said. Gawain hesitantly reached a hand out, but pulled it back.

"I don't want to wake him." Gawain said sheepishly. As though sensing he was the topic of their conversation, the baby woke up. He looked up at his parents and blinked.

"Come here baby boy." Valeria murmured before leaning down to pick the baby up. She smoothed back his tufty baby hair and turned him so Gawain could see his face. Gawain grinned.

"He looks just like me." He said proudly and then peered in a bit closer and grinned at Valeria. "Looks like he's going to have your eyes though." She grinned.

"I wanted him to have your eyes." She admitted with a slight blush and he laughed a bit before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "Here, hold him." Valeria said and Gawain looked a bit nervous, but he didn't have time to get away because he suddenly found his arms full with his son.

"What did you name him?" Gawain asked, entranced by his son who seemed to be studying him back.

"I haven't named him yet." Valeria admitted and Gawain looked at her out of the corner of his eye with laughter written on his face.

"What have you been calling him?" Gawain laughed as Valeria blushed.

"Well, I joked with Vanora about how we would take the letters of the alphabet since she and Bors took the numbers." Gawain looked slightly horrified and Valeria laughed at the look on his face. "Don't worry, I have no intention of going through the birthing process again anytime soon." She took a step closer and Gawain adjusted the baby so that he could put his arm around her. "I was waiting for you to come home before I named him."

Gawain looked at their son and came to the same conclusion that Valeria had.

"I don't think we should name him after our brothers." He stated.

"I agree." She said.

"What about Felix?" Gawain asked quietly and Valeria looked up at him curiously. Gawain blushed. "Well, it means lucky. And I think that it was lucky that Felix is here- otherwise we wouldn't have gotten back together." He shrugged and hid his face, a bit embarrassed. The baby began to fuss a bit and Valeria took him back with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Come here Felix, darling. Are you hungry?" She asked the baby and Gawain felt a smile work its way on his face. She turned to look at him. "It looks like he was just waiting for you to come home and give him the perfect name."

"Happy to oblige." Gawain before he leaned in to kiss her.

**AN: As always, please review and let me know what you think :) **


	14. The Course of True Love

**AN: Well, sorry about the delay for this chapter. I was going to try to post it before going out of town for Christmas, but didnt get to it with all the packing, wrapping, and baking that needed to be done before leaving. But! Here it is...I hope that you enjoy it :) **

**Chapter 14: The Course of True Love**

"Who's the most precious baby in the land?" Elspeth asked making a face at Felix. He clapped and laughed at her as she blew raspberries on both his cheeks. The knights were out, escorting a Roman family from the wall down to the town of Londinium. Elspeth usually came to stay with her friend when the knights were out and today Vanora had come for a visit and a break from her brood.

"He really does look so much like Gawain." Valeria said with a smile as she took her bread out of the oven. A pregnant Vanora came in from the other room.

"What's this dear?" She asked Valeria holding a letter in her hand.

"Oh, it's from my mother." Valeria said with a shrug, casting her eyes down to the ground.

"What's it say?" Vanora asked moved to help the Valeria with the stew she was making.

"Oh, nothing important." Valeria answered with a shrug. Elspeth snorted, knowing when her former mistress was lying. Valeria sent her a look but Elspeth merely rolled her eyes and went back to cooing over Felix. Valeria sighed. "Alright, it says that there's nothing she can do for me."

"You mean, she's abandoning you?" Vanora asked, not wholly surprised. Her own parents had pretty much abandoned her when she was pregnant with One. She knew that she was lucky that her sister Madge still helped out occasionally, but she knew that Madge only helped due to the attention that was shown to her by the other villagers thanks to her close connection to the knights. Truly, Valeria and Elspeth were the first women she had met who Vanora felt she could call friends.

"There is nothing else she can do without enraging my step-father." Valeria bit her lip. "She did manage to send me some of the money that my father had settled on her before he died, but she said that she won't be able to see me again."

Neither woman knew what to say to that. After a moment, Felix crawled across to his mother and tugged on her skirts. He grinned up at her and Valeria couldn't help but smile back as she picked up her son.

"Well, at least Felix is such a precious baby." Elspeth said, diffusing the tension.

"He is. I just wish Gawain was at home more." Valeria said a bit wistfully as Felix pulled on her hair with a laugh.

"Aye…don't we all wish that they were here more." Vanora said shaking her own head. Elspeth shrugged.

"It's only been a week. I don't think that they're going to be out there for much longer this time."

"I hope not!" Vanora got up heavily. "Bors promised to be here for this birth." She growled.

"Has he been absent for most of their births?" Valeria asked and Vanora felt like kicking herself, remembering it wasn't that long ago that Gawain had missed Felix's birth because of a patrol.

"He's missed them all." Vanora admitted after a moment's pause and Valeria frowned.

"I don't think I knew how hard it would be to live here." Valeria admitted.

"You're doing wonderfully, dear." Vanora said encouragingly. "Just look at the bread you made! I don't think I could've done any better." She patted Valeria on the shoulder as Elspeth took up the same thread of conversation.

"And you're doing much better around the house. I doubt you'll even need me soon!" Elspeth smiled and Valeria shook her head.

"That's not quite what I meant. That has been a challenge, but I really mean, I thought that being here with Gawain, I would actually get to _be_ with Gawain." Valeria turned her attention to Felix to avoid the eyes of her friends. Her pronouncement was met with silence for a bit before Elspeth broke it.

"Do you mean…you and Gawain haven't…" Elspeth cleared her throat and looked meaningfully at her friend. Valeria snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous, Elspeth. Of course we've done….that." Valeria blushed brightly and both Vanora and Elspeth laughed at her embarrassment.

"What do you mean then?" Vanora asked after she got a hold of herself. Valeria shrugged.

"It's just that whenever he is in town, he always wants to go to the tavern. I feel like he only wants to spend time with me for one thing." She shrugged again.

"He needs to be with his brothers too though." Vanora said and Valeria frowned a bit.

"At my house, he spent time with me." At Elspeth's naughty look, Valeria smacked her friend lightly on the shoulder. "I mean, we went to the market together and we would talk…" She trailed off with a frown. "He's always at the tavern." She muttered petulantly.

"So why don't you go to the tavern?" Vanora asked sensibly and was surprised when both Valeria and Elspeth looked at her as though she was crazy.

"I can't go there!" Valeria burst out, but she felt a bit guilty when she saw Vanora wince. "I'm sorry, Van." Vanora waved her hand impatiently.

"If you want to spend time with him, and he's there- you go there." Vanora said pragmatically. Valeria spoke a bit hesitantly.

"I just can't go there, Vanora. I-" She broke off with another shrug but they all understood her meaning.

"I don't think that it will hurt your reputation if you go there now." Vanora said bluntly. Valeria flinched a little, but nodded at the truth of Vanora's words. Vanora sighed. "Did I ever tell you how Bors and I fell in love?"

"No, and I do love a good love story." Elspeth said with a bright smile. Vanora did not smile back.

"Then you probably won't much like this story. It isn't pretty, but it is true." Vanora took a moment to compose herself and rubbed absently at her stomach.

"You don't have to tell us, Van." Valeria said but Vanora waved her off.

"I think that you need to hear it." She looked at her friends again and sighed before beginning her story. "When the knights first came here, I was still living with my parents and the rest of my family. But I had nothing in my head but day dreams about the Sarmatian knights who had just arrived. And of course, I decided I was in love right away." She smiled a bit wistfully.

"With Bors?" Elspeth asked and Vanora shook her head.

"With Lancelot." Both women looked at her a bit in disbelief. Vanora chuckled. "I was only thirteen at the time and just at the right age to fall in love with the first handsome face that looked my way."

"Thirteen?" Valeria asked a bit surprised by the coincidence. She too had been thirteen when she had first fallen in love with a Sarmatian knight.

"Aye. But Lancelot wasn't that much older." Vanora defended before continuing. "Well, it was about a year later when he finally noticed me and then not much longer that I became with child. After my parents found out, they kicked me out of the house and I found myself pregnant with a Sarmatian bastard and working at the tavern, where most of the men at the fort looked at me as nothing but a whore."

"That's horrible." Valeria whispered realizing that this could have been her fate.

"What did Lancelot do?" Elspeth asked darkly and Vanora hesitated. She wasn't sure, but had always suspected that Elspeth and Lancelot had some sort of continuing relationship.

"Well, he didn't do anything." At the darkening look on Elspeth's face, Vanora hurried on. "He was young and foolish. But while I was working at the tavern, I first began to take notice of Bors."

"What happened?" Valeria asked handing Felix to Elspeth knowing that the baby could always diffuse Elspeth's temper.

"Well, Bors was a bit older and he noticed the trouble I was having. One day he just took me aside and asked me who the father was. I told him, and the next day Lancelot had a black eye." Vanora chuckled a little bit darkly. "Then, a couple of days later Bors pulled me onto his lap as I was working and told me that he loved me. I guess I never really got up from his lap after that."

"But how did you know that Bors would do right by you?" Elspeth asked as she bounced Felix on her knee.

"I didn't. But what other choice did I have? I was young and had no other options. It was either Bors or starve." Vanora couldn't help but smile as she rubbed her stomach. "But I'm glad I did. You'd never know it by how he acts, but Bors is a good man."

"So, One really is Lancelot's?" Valeria asked a bit shocked.

"Aye." Vanora replied.

"Did you love Bors?" Elspeth asked.

"Not right away, but it wasn't long after."

"Gawain has never told me he loved me." Valeria stated and both women looked at her in surprise.

"But he's always been so gallant!" Elspeth exclaimed.

"And he was very happy to see you again when you came here." Vanora said and gestured to the house around them. "And he built this house for you."

"Yes." Valeria said taking Felix back. The baby patted her on the cheek and she kissed him absently on the head.

"Sometimes, actions speak louder than words." Vanora said and Valeria merely shrugged.

"I'm tired. I think I'll go to sleep for a bit." Valeria said and went back to the other room to lie down and process all that her friend had shared with her.

"We've got to get that girl to the tavern." Vanora said in firm voice that everyone who lived at Hadrian's Wall knew better than to argue with. Elspeth was still hesitant.

"But, what about the…you know. The whores who work there? It would kill her if she saw Gawain with one of them." Vanora looked at her in shock.

"Do you think I would encourage this if Gawain still went to those girls? Of course not! She's just got to go so that she sees what he _does_ do there." Vanora snapped.

Elspeth conceded to Vanora's greater wisdom in this matter and both women took their leave; Vanora to pick up her children and Elspeth back to her duties at the keep.

OOOOooooOOOO

It was damp on patrol. Even though summer had come round again, there was still an oppressive dampness in the air that belied the summer season. As the knights lit a fire, their thoughts were inevitably drawn to their homeland.

"What I wouldn't give to be away from this blasted island." Gawain said with a groan as he warmed his hands in front of the fire. "Summer indeed." He added with a grin.

"I don't know Gawain, I don't think that your lady love would approve of that." Gaheris said with a laugh. Gawain snorted back.

"Nah, she hates Briton too." Gawain said causing Gaheris to laugh more loudly- not even the conquerors seemed to like the land that they were conquering.

"Well, I myself am looking forward to the end of our service when we can return home." Gaheris said smiling. "I hope to find my tribe again and then settle down there with a nice Sarmatian lass."

"I just want to get away from these god forsaken woods." Gawain said as Galahad, Lancelot, and Percival came to join them at the fire.

"Talking about leaving Briton?" Galahad asked an eager look on his face. They all laughed and Galahad gave a sheepish shrug. "What? I can't wait until the next five years are up. This island will see the back of me easily enough."

"A lot can happen in five years." Percival said moodily. He gave a dark look over to the Roman caravan they were guarding. "Why are they leaving do you think? It seems like we've been escorting a lot more Romans _off_ of Briton than _on_ lately."

"Don't be such a sourpuss." Lancelot said smiling over at one of the ladies in the party they were escorting. Gaheris groaned.

"Don't start with that Lancelot." Gaheris said leaning forward to stoke the fire.

"Start what?" Lancelot asked with an innocent look on his face. Gaheris rolled his eyes and ignored the question.

"So what are you going to do when your service is ended? Stay up here and try to find out how many bastards you've spawned?" Gaheris asked sending both Galahad and Gawain into bellowing laughs as Lancelot looked at them all with indignation.

"I think I already know the answer to that." Lancelot returned haughtily causing the others to snort.

"I think you're being summoned." Percival said with a sly grin directed to Lancelot. They all looked over and saw a slightly older Roman woman giving Lancelot a flirtatious smile of invitation. They all chuckled a bit and Lancelot mock sighed before standing up.

"Well, it looks like my service to the Empire is never done." He said with a wink before walking off to the caravan to see if they _needed_ anything.

"Well I'll be…" Galahad said in disbelief as the Lancelot and the Roman woman moved to the edge of the forest, out of the light of the fire. It didn't take much imagination for the knights to realize what was going on. Percival groaned.

"I can't wait to get back to the fort." He muttered causing the rest of them to laugh. He smiled a bit too. "What? Lancelot seems to have taken the fancy of the only lady out here under the age of 50."

"Well, you can still take the fancy of the ones over fifty." Gawain said in a falsely magnanimous tone.

"Thanks." Percival said dryly.

"Well, I guess I'd better meet Tristan for watch." Gaheris said getting up from his spot around the fire.

"Be careful." Gawain said with a nod. Gaheris nodded back and went over to meet Tristan. Soon enough, the night, indeed the patrol, would be over and they would be back at the fort having cheated death one more time.

**AN: so a little bit more of my dislike of Lancelot is coming out...I just thought that with all the jokes between the knights in the movies, that it was totally possible that Lancelot had spawned a kid or two. He seemed like the logical choice for a teenage girl to have a crush on. But Bors seemed like he would be the one pick up the pieces and be truly loyal to a woman if he fell in love with her. R****eview and let me know what you think!**


	15. Never Runs Smooth

**AN: Here is the next chapter! Sorry for the wait...things have been really hectic in 2011 so far but i wanted to get this out to you today. And a big thanks to LOTRRanger- you have really kept me going and inspired on this story. I hope that you like this chapter :)**

**Chapter 15: Never Runs Smooth**

Hadrian's Wall loomed before the knights as they finished up their patrol nearby the fort. They had only been gone for two weeks, but they were all happy to return home so quickly. It hadn't been a grueling patrol, but every time they went out and all came back, they had a feeling that they were tempting fate.

As the gate opened up and they rode through, they could all hear Vanora and her brood right away. Gawain smiled as Bors bellowed a greeting to his family and then surreptitiously looked around for his own. He had to admit, he had been disappointed not have Valeria there to greet him when he had returned last time, but understood once he had seen how much energy it took to care for Felix.

"Gawain!"

His head whipped around and he smiled to see Valeria holding Felix, running over to him. He quickly dismounted, gesturing to Jols to take care of his horse, and pulled her into an embrace as she reached his side.

"I've missed you." He said and was pleased when he saw her face light up at his words. He laughed self-consciously as he looked down at himself. "Let me go to the baths, I'm getting you all dirty. I'll meet you at home."

"I don't care about that." Valeria said leaning up to kiss him again. Gawain grinned at her.

"I'll take a couple more of those then, but I still want to go to the baths." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the mouth before giving Felix a kiss on the head. "Walk with me?"

"Of course." She said and they walked together to the baths. "I'm glad that you're back so soon this time."

"Me too. I like having you come home to." Gawain said with a smile. She laughed at his smile and Gawain put his arm back around her.

"You know, you really do smell like horse." Valeria teased poking him in the side. Gawain tensed a bit. She stopped joking. "You're injured?"

"It's just a scratch." He said trying to wave off her concern. She frowned at him as they reached the door to the baths.

"Well you come home right after. Vanora gave me a paste to help heal cuts." She kissed him again even as Gawain rolled his eyes.

"Vanora would have that." He muttered, but nodded to let her know that he would come home right after.

Valeria hurried home and put Felix down with his toy horse. She couldn't help but smile at her son, everyday he seemed to be more and more like his father. He even had the same optimistic disposition. She quickly moved to take the bread she had made the previous week out of the cupboard and took out the honey pot, she had been saving it as a special treat for when Gawain returned. Looking around the cupboard she quickly found the paste that Vanora had given her. It was supposed to be great for burns and cuts.

"Valeria! I'm back!" Gawain said entering the house. He noticed Felix on the floor and scooped him up. "What are you playing with, young man?" He asked grinning as Felix placed his chubby hand on Gawain's cheek and laughed.

"Here, take off your tunic so I can look at your injury." She said and Gawain gave her a mock look of indignation. He held the baby close to his chest and pretended to cover Felix's ears.

"Not in front of the baby, dear." He said and Valeria couldn't help but smile at his jovial mood.

"Come, sit down." Valeria said still grinning. Gawain sat down and placed Felix on the floor to play with his toys again. He grimaced as he lifted his tunic and then noticed the bread and honey on a plate on the table.

"What's this then?" He asked looking up at her hopefully. She smiled at him and kissed his brow, before kneeling down to examine his side.

"A special surprise for you. I know how much you like honey on fresh baked bread and wanted to have some for your return." She quickly found the cut and frowned. It wasn't as shallow as she was expecting from Gawain's attitude but she guessed that it wasn't the worst he had ever gotten.

"How did you make sure the bread was fresh?" He asked and she glanced up a moment before looking back down at the cut, which she guessed Dagonet had stitched up on the fly and Gawain had removed the bandage at the baths.

"I made one batch at the beginning of the week, right after church. That way it wouldn't be too old when you got here." She shrugged and spread some of the paste on his wound blowing on the wound when she felt Gawain flinch.

"Good plan, the bread tastes great. You've really gotten good at making it." He said with his mouth half full. Valeria smiled a bit before reaching for the bandages and wrapping a new bandage around his waist.

"There's still some meat I can make for supper." She said and moved to the kitchen.

"No need. I'm going to go to the tavern tonight. You know, first night back." He said. Valeria bit her lip and went to sit across from him.

"Could I come with you to the tavern?" She asked a bit hesitantly. Gawain stopped eating, a piece of bread halfway to his mouth and looked at her surprised. When she had first come to the Wall he had always asked her to come with him to the tavern, but after her continued refusals and the shocked look in her eyes when he _did_ ask, Gawain had stopped asking after awhile.

"Of course! Why the sudden interest?" He asked eating his last piece of bread.

"Because, I miss you. And I want to be a part of your life. And Vanora said that I could bring Felix since most of her children are there too running around." She trailed off with a shrug, feeling a bit embarrassed. Gawain chucked her under the chin and grinned at her.

"You'll have a great time, don't worry. And I'll take care of you, you know." She reached out and took his free hand.

"I know. You always do."

OOOOooooOOOO

The tavern was darker than Valeria had expected. She winced a little bit and held Felix a bit tighter as she took in the dark room, felt the liquid on the floor through her sandals, and heard the raucous shouts of both the men and the tavern whores. Gawain put his arm around her and gave her an encouraging squeeze, kissing the top of her head.

"C'mon, love. I see Galahad and some of the others over there." He said and steered them towards a table towards the back of the pub. Valeria took his word for it; she was too short to see through the crowd of men. Instead she focused on not stepping in anything too foul on their way to the table.

"Gawain!" Galahad greeted raising his tankard in the air giddily. "And family!" He said giving Valeria a soppy grin. She couldn't help but giggle at the greeting.

"Hello." She said and sat across from Galahad with a smile. Lancelot was sitting to her left, but he was engaged with a serving wench. Valeria didn't even think that he realized someone had sat down next to him. She decided not to disabuse him of this notion.

"I'll go get some ale for myself and do you want some wine?" Gawain asked and she nodded in reply. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss before leaving to get their drinks.

"So, what brings you out tonight?" Galahad asked with that same, giddy smile.

"I was curious, I've been here for so long and I wanted to see this place where you all spend so much of your time." She said, but they were quickly distracted as Felix made a happy noise and grabbed for Lancelot's tankard.

"What's this then?" Lancelot asked, turning away from the tavern wench he was flirting with to look over at them. He smiled when he caught sight of Valeria and Felix. Although, it wasn't really a smile that made her all that comfortable, especially since she'd only recently heard Vanora's full story.

"Sorry, it seems he takes after his father in that." Valeria said moving to shift the baby. Galahad laughed and Lancelot took Felix from her. Valeria frowned a bit and moved to take the baby back, but Lancelot nudged her away.

"I don't know, he looks nothing like me." Lancelot said and Galahad began to laugh even more loudly at that as the tavern wench glared a bit at Valeria.

"What on earth would possess you to say that?" Valeria asked a bit offended at his jest. Before Lancelot could say anything else, Gawain arrived and sat next to her, kissing her and handing her a glass of wine before drinking from his own tankard of ale.

"What's this then?" The wench asked with a confused frown.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll explain everything to you." Galahad said pulling the girl onto his lap.

"Now, now pup…no need to jump to conclusions." Lancelot said hastily and gave Felix back to Valeria. Felix merely clapped his hands happily and reached for his father, enjoying this new game of being passed between the adults. Gawain took his son and laughed as Felix tried to grab his tankard.

"That's not your son!" The wench accused Lancelot as she looked back and forth between the baby and Gawain. There was no mistaking the resemblance there. Valeria rolled her eyes.

"Of course it's not. I have more sense than that." Valeria returned haughtily, gesturing dismissively in Lancelot's direction.

"Hey!" Lancelot cried, but anything else he might've said was cut off by laughter as Gawain and Galahad both guffawed at his indignation. Lancelot got up in a bit of a huff and wandered over to where Percival and Gaheris were playing dice.

"Don't be so touchy, Lance!" Gawain yelled after his retreating back. Galahad ignored it all and began talking in a low voice to the girl on his lap who seemed to be eating up whatever it was the young knight was telling her. Valeria blushed and turned away to see Gawain looking at her with a grin.

"I hope that I didn't offend Lancelot too much." She said, her cheeks still red from being so close to Galahad's attempted seduction. Successful attempt, if the girl's leaning in and tousling Galahad's curls was anything to go by. Gawain chuckled and turned Felix on his lap until their son was looking at his mother.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Lancelot deserves it after all the stuff he puts out there." Gawain shrugged and then he looked down at Felix and grinned. "There's no way he'll be able to pull that off with Felix, though." They both shared a laugh and then noticed that Galahad and the girl were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Valeria asked looking around a bit confused. Gawain gave a half-hearted shrug. "Gawain…"

"Probably out back for a bit." Gawain said and she swore that he was blushing and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"What do you- oh!" Valeria herself started blushing causing Gawain to laugh, which in turn caused Felix to laugh. She took a big drink of her wine to calm her embarrassment.

"Eh, what's this then?" Bors asked sitting down in Galahad's now unoccupied seat.

"Gawain was just explaining where Galahad went." Valeria said shaking her head.

"Did he now…" Bors replied with a look like he was about to cause trouble.

"Bors…" Gawain said knowing that his friend was about to tell Valeria something he didn't really want her to hear. Bors merely grinned and took a drink of ale.

"Did he tell you about the time that Agravaine caught _him_ out back?" Bors gave a bellowing laugh and Valeria looked over at Gawain with wide eyes, before her mouth turned up a bit at the look that he was giving Bors. It was some weird mix between embarrassment, sheepishness, and anger. She laughed and both men turned to look at her in surprise. She laughed harder at their look of surprise.

"Well, I hardly thought you were innocent before we met, darling." She said to Gawain. Both men stared at her for a bit before laughing heartily.

"I don't know if you need any more of this!" Gawain said pointing at her wine. She smiled and took another drink, causing them all to laugh again.

The next hour or so passed in the same manner. Knights would come and go from the table and Valeria got to meet many of the knights that she had merely heard stories about before. Vanora and Bors' children all seemed to be delighted to see her and Felix at the tavern. In fact, One sat with them for a long while taking charge of Felix and allowing Gawain to show off his knife throwing skills to Valeria.

Gawain noticed that Galahad was back and motioned for the younger knight to join them, chuckling at Valeria as she hid her face (and blushing cheeks) in Felix's hair. Gawain put an arm around her and guided her to a seat, whispering (and slurring a little) that he was going to get another drink. She sat down across from Galahad, who smirked at her, causing her to laugh through her embarrassment.

"No need to be embarrassed, Valeria." Galahad said joining in her laughter. Whatever answer she was going to make was cut off by a snort coming from the knight next to her, one of the few that she had failed to meet that night.

"She should know, after all she's got proof that she does know sitting on her lap."

Valeria bit her lip and frowned.

"Kay, don't start now." Galahad said and the other knight-Kay- slammed his tankard down.

"She's a_ Roman,_ Galahad. I don't know how Gawain can stand to look at her, let alone touch her." He gave her a sneer and Valeria could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"Stop it, Kay." Galahad said sharply.

"_Stop it Kay._" Kay mimicked before giving a dark laugh. "Who's going to stop me? You?" He snorted again. "I'll say what I want about the little Roman whore and the mixed blood bastard that she spawned."

"That's enough!" Galahad said, slamming his own drink down and glaring at Kay. Valeria clutched Felix to her a bit more tightly, wary of what was happening.

"Galahad-" she started looking over to where Gawain was at the bar. He was talking to Dagonet about something and grinning as Dagonet shook his head, a reluctant smile on the larger knight's face.

"Maybe you want the next one to be yours?" Kay sneered, and she returned her attention to what was going on around her. Would they really fight each other? She started to get up and back away, moving towards Gawain.

"Kay, would you shut your mouth?" Galahad snarled. Kay ignored him.

" Although why you'd actually want to mix your blood with a Roman is beyond me. You should make sure she takes the proper herbs to stop it from starting this time." Kay took a drink and looked over at Valeria and Felix with a sneer. "And maybe throw that one over the side of the wall while you're at it." He finished up with a dark smile.

With those words, Galahad lost it and dove over the table, attacking Kay. Valeria cried out in surprise, pressing Felix towards her and causing the baby to start to cry. Some of the other knights looked over at the noise and Percival, Gawain and Dagonet rushed over when they saw Kay and Galahad fighting. Percival pulled Galahad off of Kay and Gawain went over to where Valeria and Felix were huddled by the wall of the tavern. Dagonet helped Kay off the floor and held him back when he made a lunge for Galahad.

"Let me go! I'll kill the bastard!" Galahad yelled, struggling against Percival's hold.

"C'mon pup, we know it's the ale talking." Percival said trying to reason with his friend. Valeria turned to Gawain with a bit of a tearful look.

"I'd like to go back to the house." She whispered to him and he looked a bit disappointed but nodded and they moved towards the door. As they stepped out into the night air, Gawain put his arm around her and she jiggled the baby until he calmed down.

"Let's get you home then." He murmured to Valeria. "I'm sorry about the fight. I don't know what Galahad was thinking." Gawain said shaking his head with a bit of a chuckle. When Valeria didn't answer he pulled her a bit closer and looked down on her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Galahad attacked Kay because of something that was said to me." She said at last. Gawain's expression darkened and she hurried on. "I don't want you to get upset, Gawain."

"Kay is an idiot." Gawain said sharply, able to guess that some of the things that Kay had been saying to him privately, he had said to Valeria. He made a note to buy Galahad a drink the next time he saw him and to beat Kay until his bruises had bruises.

"He is entitled to his opinion." She said while unintentionally shrugging off his arm. "I'm sure that he is not alone in his thoughts." Gawain didn't like where her words were heading.

"Valeria-"

"Maybe I should follow my mother's original plan." She murmured, cutting off Gawain and looking down at Felix, who was now asleep in her arms.

"What plan?" Gawain asked sharply, and Valeria blushed remembering that she had never told him of the original reason her mother had sent her to the Wall. Gawain pulled her to a stop in the street, gripping her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "What plan, Valeria?"

She shuddered at the look in his eyes. He looked fierce and angry- a look that had never been directed at her before. She couldn't meet his eyes and focused on his chin as she explained.

"My mother wanted me to travel to Rome. Have the baby here in Briton and then go live with my grandmother, my father's mother, pretending that I had been widowed and raise the baby there saying that the letter with news of my marriage had been lost." She explained.

She winced a bit as Gawain's hands tightened painfully around her arms. At the sight of her wince, he loosened his grip and began to rub his hands up and down her arms, feeling remorseful at his actions. But he couldn't do anything about the unsettled feeling in his stomach that her words had caused.

"NO." Gawain said emphatically and she looked at him confused.

"No, what?" She asked.

"No, you shall not be going to Rome. And no, you shall not be leaving me." He clarified in a hard voice. She looked up at him in surprise and reached out touch his face.

"But surely, it would be easier for you-" He grabbed her hand in his own and brought it to his heart.

"Don't you understand? I love you." He said pressing her hand to his heart. Their eyes met and Valeria was surprised by the emotion that she saw there. "I can't just _let_ you go. I can't just let Felix go, not without a fight. I won't survive without you."

Valeria didn't say anything and for a moment and Gawain was sorry that he had admitted his feelings to her. But then she smiled at him, a slow smile that seemed to light up her whole face, even in the dark of the night. Gawain felt an answering smile tug up the corners of his mouth and she slid her free hand out from under his and up around his shoulder. As Valeria went up on her toes, Gawain bent down and slid his arms around her to help steady her.

When their faces were close, she slowly kissed first his right cheek then his left cheek, then looked in his eyes for a long moment, that smile still on her face. Finally, she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. She pulled away with a slightly dreamy look on her face.

"You'll stay?" He asked a bit hesitantly, but he was no longer frantic at the thought that she would leave him.

"I'll never leave you." She replied and he grinned, putting his arm around her and they continued on the walk to their house, her head leaning on his shoulder and his head tilted towards her and their son.

**END PART 1**

**OOOOooooOOOO**

**AN: As I was doing the final review of the outline, I came to the conclusion that the story was really done in two parts. Part 1, was all pre-movie stuff. The last paragraph in Chapter 15 really struck me as the end of that story; Valeria has fully accepted her life with Gawain, cutting her final ties to Rome and her family and has found happiness at the Wall. And Gawain has admitted his feelings aloud to her and has fully integrated her into his world; she is an acknowledged part of his life. **

**So, Part 2 focuses on how the events of the movie are affected by the insertion of my OCs. Part 2 will still be posted in this story but I have couple of Interludes and wanted your opinion on where to post them- here or as a new story? Right now I have two but it there could be more...and I will take requests if you let me know what you think (and post them faster!) **


	16. Interlude

**AN: Well I decided to post the two stories about Gawain and Valeria for the years between the two parts of the story here instead of making a new story. So just a bit of family fluff for you! I hope that you enjoy and sorry for the wait. Life has been crazy...I have another interlude ready to go and will try to post it as soon as possible!**

**INTERLUDE ONE**

"I don't know Gawain, why don't we just go to the tavern?" Galahad asked with a bit of a whine in his voice. Gawain slapped his young friend on the back.

"I've been over there every night this week. I'd like to spend some time with Valeria and the baby." Gawain said with an easy smile.

"Don't know why I have to go." Galahad muttered and Gawain chose to ignore his friend. He didn't want to tell Galahad that he was bringing him because Valeria had complained about not knowing many people at the fort. Gawain pushed open the door to his house and walked in with a big grin.

"Valeria! I'm here and I brought Galahad!" He called out and Valeria came out of the kitchen with a happy smile. She quickly went over and welcomed him with a kiss, Felix crawling in to the room behind her.

"I'm so happy you're both here!" She exclaimed as Gawain put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh. Galahad took in the scene with a reluctant smile. The girl did seem to care a great deal for his brother knight and it was easy to see how Gawain felt about her; Gawain had always worn his heart on his sleeve.

"He's crawling already?" Gawain asked releasing her after a moment and leaning down to scoop up the baby.

"He's growing faster every day." She replied.

"Er…I'll just go." Galahad said a bit awkwardly but was cut off as Gawain dropped Felix in his arms. "What do I do with this?" Galahad hissed. Gawain laughed loudly and clapped Galahad on the back, almost causing him to drop the baby.

"Why don't you sit down, Galahad." Valeria said a bit alarmed. Galahad nodded in agreement and moved to sit at the kitchen table. "I'll check on dinner…I think it's almost ready."

Gawain sat across from his friend and watched as Galahad awkwardly moved Felix around in his arms. He chuckled as his son didn't make it any easier and seemed intent on squirming as much as possible, laughing all the time as though it was a game.

"Be careful you don't drop him." Gawain said with a grin. "Women seem to get upset if you drop their children. Especially on the head." Galahad gave Gawain a scowl.

"Thanks for the tip." Galahad snarled. His tone caused Felix to squirm to face the new person holding him. After a brief staring match, Felix patted Galahad's cheek and laughed at the melancholy look on this new person's face causing Gawain to laugh again.

"Are you torturing poor Galahad?" Valeria asked with a smile as she looked over from the cooker. Gawain gave her a shrug which indicated that he was.

"He's used to it." He defended when it looked like she was about to scold him.

"Not used to this." Galahad called out in a high pitched voice and they both turned to him, seeing that Felix had grabbed a hold of the younger knight's nose and was pinching it closed. This caused both Valeria and Gawain to laugh, however, Valeria went over to lift Felix from Galahad's lap and free him of their son's vise-like grip. Galahad worked his nose a bit once he was baby free.

"I'll go get dinner." Valeria said handing Felix to Gawain. Galahad felt a twinge of satisfaction as the baby grabbed onto Gawain's hair and pulled. Hard.

"Ow. How many times have I told him not to do that." Gawain muttered as Galahad laughed.

"Here you go. I opened the cask of ale that I purchased last week from the tavern so you can have some of that too." Valeria said returning to the kitchen and coming back with a couple of tankards of ale.

"There's only two cups…don't you want one?" Galahad asked and Gawain chuckled as Valeria wrinkled her nose.

"She's a true Roman that way- she only drinks wine." Gawain said with a grin. She gave him a playful swat on the arm and went back to get her own cup and plate before joining them at the table and taking Felix from Gawain.

"I've never really liked wine myself." Galahad admitted. Gawain gave a shrug and took a drink of his ale.

"Never really mattered to me." He said wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Valeria rolled her eyes and handed him a napkin as she mushed up some of her food with her spoon in order to feed Felix.

Gawain gave her a grin which, at first, Galahad thought she ignored, but then he noticed the slight upturn of her lips as she glanced at Gawain out of the corner of her eye. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he took his first bite of dinner.

"This is great!" He exclaimed and began to eat a bit more rapidly, causing Gawain in turn to laugh at him.

"You should've tasted her first efforts." He said grinning at Valeria. She scowled back.

"I thought that we weren't going to talk about that. Ever." Valeria replied causing Gawain's laughter to increase.

"What happened?" Galahad asked swallowing his food and taking a sip of ale. He was about to wipe his own mouth on his sleeve, but noticed a clean napkin and reached for that instead. He was pleased when the girl gave him a bright smile.

"Well, Vanora thought it would be safe for Valeria to start cooking breakfast unsupervised." Gawain said.

"I thought that the definition of not talking about something was to actually not talk about it." Valeria muttered darkly as she began to blush.

"C'mon…let me in on the story." Galahad said with a puppy dog look in his eyes which caused her to roll her eyes and wave her hand, indicating that Gawain could go on. Gawain gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek which caused her to screech a bit and give Gawain another annoyed look.

"Well, I don't know all the details. All I really know is that I woke up to the smell of burned eggs and we were short one frying pan." Gawain laughed and Galahad raised a brow in question. Valeria sighed.

"I burned a whole through the pan in one place and the eggs somehow congealed and stuck to the pan in a few other places." She said with a shrug and a bit of a smile as Galahad began laughing. Felix, liking this new game much more than the food his mother was trying to feed him, started laughing along too.

"Well, this is delicious." Galahad said with a grin and took another large bite. Valeria smiled back at him pleased.

"Eh, watch it pup- go get your own woman." Gawain said with a teasing smile as he kicked Galahad under the table.

As they continued to eat dinner and talk and tease, Galahad realized that Gawain was really happy with this girl. The longer he stayed, the more he understood why Gawain cared so much about her. He was happy that his brother had her in his life. When she went in the other room in order to put the baby to bed, Galahad turned to Gawain with a serious look.

"Thanks for inviting me over. I can see now why you like her. She's…" Galahad trailed off with a shrug unable and unwilling to fully express himself. Gawain got a soft look on his face as he looked toward the empty doorway that Valeria had gone through a moment before.

"Aye." He replied.


	17. Interlude: Part 2

**AN: Because sometimes it's impossible to keep war out on the battle field**

**INTERLUDE TWO**

Gawain flailed around in bed a bit and Valeria woke up in concern. She muzzily looked over at him, and the expression on his sleeping face caused her to wake up fully.

Normally, Valeria liked to watch Gawain sleep when she got the chance. He could never really look boyish due to his size and the wildness in his features, but when he was asleep all of the hard lines and worries seemed to fade from his face and sometimes he even had a slightly curling smile on his lips, like he was privy to some sort of wonderful secret in his dreams.

But not tonight.

Tonight, his brow was creased and he appeared to be struggling against imaginary adversaries. She wasn't sure what to do. He seemed to be in pain, but she worried about startling him awake too suddenly. When he began to groan as though in pain, she made up her mind to wake him up.

"Gawain, Gawain darling. Wake up." She murmured and tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder. He seemed to struggle away from her light touch. She swallowed and tried again, truly worried.

"Gawain, wake up." She said louder and managed to reach past his flailing arms and place a hand fully on his shoulder. She cried out in pain shortly after as Gawain struck her. A second later, she somehow managed to fall out of the bed and onto the floor. But as a result of the noise, Gawain woke up.

He was panting hard and it took him a second to realize where he was. He was home, at the Wall, safe with Valeria. He looked over to where Valeria usually slept and was surprised to see her side of the bed empty. He felt the panic from his dream start to close in around him as he looked for his woman. Hearing a groan he peered over the side of the bed and saw Valeria sitting up, rubbing her head. She had a bruise forming on her cheek as well.

"Valeria." He sighed and got out of bed to go around and help her. He bent down beside her and propped her up examining her for a second before moving her back into bed. He knelt at the side of the bed for a moment and looked up at her. She blinked at him and he reached out to tentatively touch her cheek. "What happened? Did I do that?"

"You were dreaming." She said with a slight slur to her voice. "I fell out of bed and must've hit my head a little bit." He reached up to feel the back of her head and felt a moderate sized bump, but was pleased that he didn't see any blood when he pulled his hand away. His pleasure faded though as he looked at the bruise on her face once more.

"Everything I touch turns to ashes." He mumbled, holding his head in his hands. He looked at her mournfully again before sighing. "I'll go sleep in the other room." He muttered.

"What? Why?" Valeria asked, still feeling a little dizzy. She reached for Gawain's arm before sliding across the bed and tugging him into the bed after her. She was pleased when he didn't fight her- probably worried that he would hurt her again. She forced him to lie down and curled herself around him.

"I hurt you." He mumbled, absently stroking the arm that she had flung across his chest in an attempt to trap him. She mumbled something into his chest that he didn't understand. "What?" He asked and she looked up at him.

"You were having a nightmare." She repeated and he nodded. "You would never hurt me Gawain." She said with conviction. Gawain reached out and stroked her hair.

"But I have. I've hurt you so many times." He countered and silenced her when she went to protest. "Yes, I left you with your step father and he hurt you while you were pregnant. That was my fault. And I- if I wasn't so weak, you never would've had to leave your life behind and become worth practically nothing to be with me…" He trailed off at the fierce look in her eyes.

"I made my choices. And I don't regret them. I love you and my life here with you." She said simply and leaned up to kiss him. Gawain did not hesitate to kiss her back but pulled away quickly.

"Are you sure? I'm nothing more than a brutal killer, Valeria. I'm not the man you should be with." He continued, his eyes sad. Valeria poked him hard in the side and he looked at her in disbelief. "What was that for?"

"Stop being so melancholy." She commanded and he blinked at her in surprise.

"You don't understand. All the things I've done…" He sighed and shrugged, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling. At her continued silence he looked back at Valeria and saw her staring at him with a curious expression on her face. "What?"

"You're right." She said after a moment and Gawain felt a pang run through him. "I don't know everything that you've done and I never will, but I do know some things. And those things- I love them about you. You've always done right by me Gawain. _Always_." She said firmly, putting her hand on his chest.

"But-"

"No buts." She interrupted sharply the fierceness returning to her face. "I don't stand anyone else speaking about you in that manner, and I won't have it from you either." Finally Gawain felt a smile break out across his face as he looked at her and an answering smile formed on her own face.

"C'mere you." He said affectionately and was pleased when she leaned up to kiss him. His hand slipped down her side and he pulled her more tightly against his body. "This is a much more pleasant way for me to wake up, I believe." He murmured and was pleased when she caught the playfulness in his voice and laughed her agreement.

"Shhh…we don't want to wake Felix." She said still giggling as Gawain turned them over, pushing her nightdress up her legs.

"Don't worry. My boy knows when his father needs time alone with his woman." Gawain said smiling and she reached up to stroke his bearded cheek.

"Aye." She grinned up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The sounds that followed were different from the pained sounds of earlier that night. All that remained was Valeria's laughter and Gawain's low murmuring chuckle as they made love to each other. And true to Gawain's prediction, baby Felix remained remarkably quiet.

**AN: Hope that you enjoyed that! Next we will move onto Part 2 of the story. Review and let me know what you think!**


	18. Welcome Bishop Germanus

**AN: On to part 2! I hope that you guys enjoyed the two interludes from before. This part of the story is basically from the movies but shows how the insertion of the OCs change that. Just as an additional disclaimer- I do not own any of the King Arthur movie.**

**PART TWO**

**Chapter 16: Welcome Bishop Germanus**

_**Four Years later**_

Gawain felt like a bundle of nervous energy as the knights rode to meet the Bishop's caravan. It was probably because this was their last mission. After they reached the Wall, they would be free. Free from Rome, free from this life of death, and free to pursue whatever life they wished to pursue. Then a Roman horseman was shot off the back of his horse and the knights realized that this island still had a few surprises in store for them.

The knights charged down the hill and, as they reached the battle, it appeared almost as if they were cutting through grain for the harvest, so easily did they cut down the Woad warriors in their path. The knights' faces were hardened, grim looks in all their eyes. The Romans circled the carriage in an attempt to protect the Bishop from the attacking Woads, but several more of the Romans were shot right from their horses as they tried to maintain their formations.

Upon reaching the carriage, Gawain went to check on the Bishop. He had just pulled back the curtain seeing the Bishop sitting a bit nervously on the carriage's bench, when he was tackled from behind by a Woad and pulled off of his horse. Giving a fierce grunt, Gawain managed to send the Woad soaring over his head. As the Woad rushed to attack him, Tristan killed the man with an arrow. Gawain heard a noise behind him and quickly spun to face his next attacker.

The other knights were fairing well. Lancelot dismounted his horse as soon as they reached the Romans and drew his swords, fighting with fierce concentration, as though he could smite his enemies with just a glare while Tristan began fighting his foes with his usual brand of elegant calm, which was totally incongruent to the battle surrounding them all. Soon, the tide of the battle had turned and it appeared that the knights, and by extension the Romans, were winning. Fewer and fewer live Woads remained on the battlefield.

Over by the carriage, Bors began to the taunt the retreating Woads with a war cry before going to the carriage to check on the Bishop. Bors grunted at the sight that met him; the Bishop was dead- an arrow through his heart. Hearing a noise, Gawain and Bors can see the Bishop's servant, praying and hidden under the carriage. This only added to their frustration. With the Bishop dead, who is to release them of their service to Rome? Are they to remain on this island until another envoy can be sent?

"Save your prayers boy, your god doesn't live here." Gawain snarled driving a knife into the ground fiercely. He surveyed the battle from his position, seeing that only Arthur still had his weapon raised. They had taken the field. After Arthur, much to Lancelot's disgust, allowed the last the Woad to join his companions in the forest, Arthur started towards the carriage to greet the Bishop.

"What's a bloody mess?" Bors said as a greeting as Arthur approached where he was standing. Arthur pulled back the curtain of the carriage and glanced inside, almost casually.

"That's not the Bishop." Arthur replied walking away and looking at the Romans on horseback. He approached one man deliberately.

"Arthur, Arthur Castus. Your father's image. I haven't seen you since childhood." The Bishop said as Arthur stood before him.

"Bishop Gernamus, welcome to Briton. I see your military skills are still of use to you. Your device worked." Arthur replied.

"Ancient tricks for an ancient dog." The Bishop answered in a self congratulatory tone. "And these are the great Sarmatian knights we have heard so much of in Rome." He examined the men, they were hardly very heroic looking to his mind. They looked like the barbarians that they were, covered in blood with grim, angry looks on their faces. He changed the subject. "I thought that the Woads control the land north of Hadrian's Wall."

"They do, but occasionally they travel south." Arthur replied. "Rumors of Rome's withdrawal from Briton have only increased their daring."

"Woads? What are they?"

"British rebels who hate Rome." Gawain answered in a slow drawl.

"Men who want their country back." Galahad put in sharply. Several of the knights rolled their eyes. Galahad just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Who leads them?" The Bishop asked.

"He's call Merlin. A dark magician, some say." Lancelot said in a sarcastic voice.

"Tristan, ride ahead." Arthur interrupted giving Lancelot and Galahad irritated looks. "Bishop, we will protect you."

"I have no doubt, Commander. No doubt." The Bishop answered slyly. He dismounted his own steed and, turning his back on Arthur, got into his carriage.

"Dozens don't worry me so much as thousands." The Bishop's servant muttered in a haughty tone and went to get back into the carriage only to have the curtain dropped in his face. It seemed that the servant only rated highly enough to ride with the fake Bishop, not the real Bishop.

"Thousands?" Lancelot asked with a glance at Arthur. Arthur ignored Lancelot's look, and soon they were all on the road again, this time on their way back to the Wall and safety.

Personally, Gawain thought that the Bishop's trick, while it did work to their advantage, was a cheap ploy. A bit of hard luck for the sitting duck who had died inside the carriage. His thoughts couldn't help but turn to Valeria and the death of her brother, all those years ago. He was glad that they never really talked about his patrols; he would've had to lie to her about this one. His thoughts of his woman were interrupted by the others as they looked down from the ridge they were standing on, looking at Hadrian's Wall below.

"Well, now that we're free men, I'm gonna drink 'till I can't piss straight." Bors said.

"You do that every night." Gawain replied, arching an eyebrow at his friend.

"I never could piss straight." Bors began with a smirk on his face. "Too much of myself to handle…down there…" Bors trailed off looking at the others, who all rolled their eyes. "Well, it's a problem!" He exclaimed. Gawain gave him an exasperated look.

"No, it's really problem." Bors continued looking serious. "It's like…"

"A baby's arm holding an apple…" The rest of the knights and Arthur chanted.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before." Gawain said rolling his eyes. They saw the Wall before them and the gates began to open in anticipation of their arrival. Riding in the shadow of the Wall, a palpable symbol of Rome's power, brought them all back to thinking about their upcoming freedom and imminent discharge.

"I don't like him- the Roman. If he's here to discharge us, then why doesn't he just give us our papers?" Galahad said in an impatient tone.

"Is this your happy face?" Gawain asked sarcastically causing himself, Bors, and Galahad to laugh. "Galahad, do you still not know the Romans? They won't scratch their asses without holding a ceremony." His pronouncement was met with snorts.

"You gonna tell your lady love that?" Lancelot teased. Gawain smiled and shook his head, changing the subject back to what they had been talking about before.

"I've often thought of what going home will mean after all of this. What will I do? It's different for Galahad, I have been in this life longer than the other. So much for home; it's not so clear in my memory."

"Well you speak for yourself. It's cold back there and everyone I know is dead and buried. Besides, I have I think about a dozen children." Bors said.

"Eleven." Gawain corrected with a half grin.

"You listen, when the Romans leave here we'll have the run of all this place. I'll be governing my own village and Dagonet will be my own personal guard and royal ass kisser- won't you Dag?" Bors called over his shoulder to Dagonet. Dagonet merely looked a bit pressed upon at Bors' question but didn't respond. None of them had expected him to.

"Well I for one am going to go home and marry a beautiful Sarmatian woman." Galahad said with a dreamy look on his face.

"A beautiful Sarmatian woman? Why do you think we left in the first place?" Bors shouted across at Galahad. "Moo!" His pronouncement was met with laughs by all the knights except for Galahad, who was pouting a bit.

"What about you Gawain? What are you going to do?"

"I think I'd like to go back to Sarmatia. Unlike Bors, I haven't tried to re-populate the island so I'll be able to move my family back with me."

"Just because you're not as big a man as me…" Bors started only to be interrupted by Gawain.

"Quality, not quantity." Gawain said in an unconcerned tone.

"What about you, Lancelot? What are your plans for home?" Dagonet asked before anything else could be said.

"Well, if this woman of Galahad's is as beautiful as he says, I suspect that I'll be spending a lot of time at Galahad's house. His wife will welcome the company." Lancelot suavely replied, causing Galahad to sputter in disbelief.

"I see. And what will I be doing?" Galahad asked indignantly.

"You'll be wondering why you have the good fortune that all your children look like me." Lancelot said with a smirk as Bors laughed at Galahad's offended look.

"I'm going to hit you. Hard." Galahad said darkly, causing all the knights to laugh.

OOOOooooOOOO

"Gawain! Children, your father's home." Valeria said and grinned as Felix, now almost five years old, rushed over to his father as his two year old sister, Lucia, toddled behind him.

"My beauties, are you happy to see me?" Gawain said laughing as he scooped up Felix and then Lucia. Valeria moved to his side and he leaned over to kiss her in greeting.

"Daddy! Mommy and Auntie Elspeth made a special surprise for you." Felix said enthusiastically. Gawain gave Valeria a sidelong look and she blushed before reaching up to tickle her son.

"It's a surprise, silly boy." She admonished and Felix blushed a bit, squirming and laughing at his mother. Gawain smiled at them and passed Lucia, who was reaching for her mother, to Valeria. However, his smile turned to a frown when he saw Bishop Germanus looking over at their family group. The Bishop had a curious look on his face as he examined Valeria.

"Come, let's go home." Gawain said and the other three, unaware of his concerns, smiled and chatted happily at Gawain on their way back to the house. The children went to play in the main room as Gawain and Valeria retreated into their bedroom so Gawain could clean up a bit.

"I don't like how that _Bishop_ was looking at you." Gawain stated as soon as they were alone.

"What are you talking about?" Valeria asked moving to find him a fresh tunic. "What Bishop?" Gawain chuckled at her inattention to the Bishop.

"The one we went to escort. You know, the one who has our papers?" Valeria blushed at his reminder.

"Oh yes, that Bishop." She said loftily and Gawain smiled at her.

"He was looking at you curiously."

"I don't know why." She said with a shrug.

"Did you ever meet him before?"

"Possibly. Fulvonius was very well connected, politically. But it would've been long ago, before I came to live in Briton." She shrugged again, unconcerned. "I don't see why he would remember me." Gawain frowned.

"I'm not sure, but there is something about the man that I distrust. I would prefer if you would stay as far away from him as possible."

"Alright, if you're worried about it, I will." She acquiesced easily. She had no desire to associate with any Bishops. That part of her life was over.

"Thanks." Gawain said and moved to kiss her. "Tavern tonight?"

"I'll stay home with the children." She said and moved to embrace him. "You have a good night with your brothers. The last one before we all go our separate ways."

"Are you sure? Do you not want to go too?"

"You know that you all are too rowdy for me the first night after a mission." She said half teasing before giving him a serious look. "Have fun with the boys. I'll have plenty more nights with you on my own, but this will be the last one all you knights are together."

Gawain didn't say anything. He just pulled her into a hug.

"I won't be too late." Pulling away he grinned at her. "Now where's my surprise?"

"Oh, no! You have to wait until you come back from the tavern for that." Valeria replied with a grin of her own.

OOOOooooOOOO

The tavern was in full swing. Gawain was still trying to convince Tristan to show him how he managed to hit the center of the knife with his own. It was like trying to get water from a stone. With a good natured shrug, Gawain realized that he would probably never find the answer to that mystery. He decided to console himself with another tankard of ale. With a grin he grabbed up his cup just as he heard Bors call out to Vanora to start to singing.

Vanora had always had a lovely singing voice. But tonight, her voice seemed to affect them all more than usual. They were finally going home. They had made it through their service to Rome! It seemed almost impossible. As Vanora kept singing, Gawain's thoughts turned to the knights that they had lost; those who hadn't made it to the end of their service and whose bones were buried or lost on this cursed island. As tears came to his eyes, he glanced at his brother knights and saw that their thoughts seemed similarly occupied. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, the song had ended.

"Arthur!" Jols called out.

"Arthur, you're not completely a Roman yet, are you?" Galahad exclaimed, walking over to Arthur. They would all be sorry to leave their commander, but he was to Rome and they were to Sarmatia.

"Ruuuuuus!" Bors called, pounding on his chest. All of the knights rose from their occupations to greet Arthur merrily. Lancelot had a look of distrust in his eye; he could tell that something wasn't right.

"Knights. Brothers in arms." Arthur said with a sigh in his voice. "Your courage has been tested beyond all limits. But I must ask you now for one further trial."

"Drink!" Galahad mumbled raising his jug a bit in the air and taking a gulp of his ale. The other knights all chuckled at his assessment. Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that the news he was about to tell them would ruin not only their evening festivities, but possibly result in the deaths of more of his brave men.

"We must leave on a final mission for Rome before our freedom can be granted." Arthur said heavily. The knights began to laugh at Arthur's apparent joke. Arthur felt his heart stick in his throat as he continued. "Above the wall, far in the north, there is a Roman family in need of rescue."

Galahad's face began to fall as the reality of Arthur's words began to sink in. This was not a joke. All of the knights could feel their smiles and the ease that they had felt that night, an ease they had felt for the first night in fifteen years, begin to fade away. With every word that Arthur spoke, it felt like a rock began to settle on their hearts.

"They are trapped by Saxons and our orders are to secure their safety." Arthur continued.

"Let the Romans take care of their own!" Bors barked out.

"Above the wall is Woad territory." Gawain commented, giving Arthur a serious look.

"Our duty to Rome, if it was ever a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done!" Galahad shouted. The amount that he had drunk that night and the frustration that had begun when they first realized that Arthur was not joking caused him to slur his speech more than usual.

"Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you! And instead of freedom, you want more blood? Our blood? You think more of Roman blood than of ours?" Bors yelled out before Arthur could respond to Galahad.

"Bors. These are our orders. We leave at first light and when you return, your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom you can embrace with honor." Arthur said. He kept his face stern and his eyes serious, even though he felt like his heart was bleeding as he informed the knights of the Bishop's mission.

"I am a free man! I will choose my own fate!" Bors yelled in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah. We're all going to die someday. If it's a death from a Saxon hand that frightens you, stay home." Tristan said calmly, eating a slice of apple as though completely unconcerned with Arthur's news.

"Listen, if you're so eager to die, you can die right now!" Galahad challenged moving towards Tristan and waving his jug around a bit carelessly.

"Enough! Enough." Lancelot said coming over to stop the argument.

"I've got something to live for!" Galahad yelled, still wanting to vent his frustrations.

"The Romans have broken their word. We have the word of Arthur. That is good enough. I'll prepare." Dagonet said calmly. "Bors, you coming?" He called over his shoulder as he walked out of the tavern.

"Of course I'm coming! Can't let you go on your own! You'll all get killed." Bors yelled still upset about the situation. "I'm just saying what you're all thinking!" He called out and turned to follow Dag. "Vanora'll kill me." Bors muttered under his breath as he left.

"And you Gawain?" Arthur asked.

"I'm with you." Gawain answered calmly. He nudged Galahad with his elbow. "Galahad as well." Galahad gave a bitter laugh and poured out his jug on the floor of the tavern before smashing the jug itself and storming off into the night. Gawain watched Galahad walk off for a moment before following after his friend, his mug still in his hand.

OOOOooooOOOO

Valeria put the children down in their room as she waited for Gawain to come back from the tavern. Although she did go with him to the tavern on occasion, tonight, she wanted Gawain to have a good time with his fellow knights on their last night together without him having to worry about her. He always worried about her ever since the fight that had erupted the first time she went to the tavern. She turned when she heard the door open and close and gave Felix and Lucia one last kiss each before going to greet Gawain.

"How was the night?" She greeted with a smile. Her smile quickly faded at the look on Gawain's face. "What happened?" She asked in dread.

"We're to go out on one more mission. Above the Wall." Gawain stated somberly. Valeria paled and quickly moved to his side and held him in a fierce embrace.

"But you just got back…your service is up." She said pressing her face into his chest. Gawain held her tight, feeling his throat close up at the thought that he might never see her or their children again.

"It'll be alright." He pulled back and tilted her chin up with his forefinger. Valeria gave him a watery smile.

"Yes." Her smile became genuine for a moment. "Out of habit, I had Jols and the Weapons Master sharpen your axe." Gawain gave her a true smile at that and leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

"The perfect Sarmatian wife." He said with a grin. His grin only widened at her blush, before he became serious. "I know I have teased you over the years about being my Sarmatian bride, but Valeria, you must understand that, while we've had no ceremony, in my heart, you are my wife."

"And you are my husband." She said in a firm voice, reaching up and cupping his cheek with her hand. They looked at each for a long, serious moment as though memorizing each other's features before Gawain smiled.

"Come, no more time for serious thoughts. We still have this night together and I would not have you miss me for my serious nature while I am away." He said. Valeria snorted.

"Don't worry, my dear. That is not what I miss when you are away." She teased and he laughed at her assessment and they settled into a routine that they had established several years before. It had originally started off as an argument when Gawain had come home drunk from the tavern after Percival's death. But later, their fight had evolved into a playful banter and affirmation of their feelings for each other.

"And what _do_ you miss? How did such a lovely, nice Roman girl like you get mixed up with a rough, ugly Sarmatian bastard like me?" He asked. Valeria shrugged.

"Well, you really do have the most charming smile." She said in an unconcerned tone, trying to appear haughty. But she couldn't fight the smile that crept up on her face for too long. "My question is, how did such a handsome, brave, and loyal Sarmatian warrior get mixed up with a haughty, sour-faced Roman like me?"

"Just lucky, I guess." Gawain said giving her a grin. He leaned in to kiss her and then they retreated to the bedroom for the night.

**AN: as always- feedback is welcome!**


	19. One Last Mission

**AN: Thanks for the support for the last few chapters! The second part of this chapter is mostly from the movie and the first part provides a glimpse of life at the fort for everyone else with Bishop Germanus there. Hope that you like it!**

**Chapter 17: One Last Mission**

Valeria found herself worrying more than usual as the left on this mission than any of the other mission that had proceeded it. Maybe it was because this one had come as such a surprise. Maybe it was because it was above the Wall and involved so much more danger than the knights had faced before. She shook off her fear as she looked around the tavern. True to her promise to Gawain, she had been staying with Vanora and avoiding any areas of the fort that she thought the Bishop was likely to frequent. At the moment, she was helping Vanora fix up the tavern a bit before it opened for the night.

"Bloody slobs is what they are." Vanora mumbled under her breath as she puttered around the tavern, practically scrapping the grit off of the counter. She cursed. "I think I need more of this soap." She added with a frown. She looked up at Valeria with a hopeful look on her face. Valeria chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'll go. I have to run a couple of errands anyway, you know, getting stuff ready for our trip to Sarmatia." She said in a tone of forced lightness. Vanora gave a forced chuckle, as both women were trying not to talk about their fears regarding the knights' mission.

"Aye, the big trip back." They shared a look of worry that was quickly hidden when their children started look over.

"Mama! Me come too!" Lucia said from her spot on the recently cleaned floor. She lifted up her arms in a beseeching manner that was almost impossible to resist. Valeria hesitated. It would be much faster if she went on her own. Lucia's lower lip began to tremble and she thought it might be easier after all to just take the toddler with her, at the very least to keep the child out of Vanora and the older children's way.

"I'll come too! To help!" Felix said with an easy grin. Valeria couldn't help but grin at her son as she scooped up her daughter. Even though he was still young, he was always trying to help out around the house and was a doting and careful older brother.

"Alright, you lazy bears. You can come, but you have to promise to behave." She said giving them a stern look. They both nodded looking serious and Valeria couldn't help but kiss them laughingly before waving to Vanora, indicating that she would be back soon.

The walk to the market was short, but Valeria still couldn't carry Lucia the whole way. However, Felix took his sister's hand and began to entertain her before she could really start pouting. Valeria found the stall that sold the particular type of soap that Vanora liked. The stand was a little closer to the keep than she was comfortable with thanks to the Bishop's presence and Gawain's warnings still ringing in her ears. But the knights had been gone a couple of days and nothing had happened, so she tried to tell herself that it wouldn't matter. Soon she started to bargain for the soap. Just as she had finished negotiating with the vendor, Lucia started crying. Valeria bent down to pick her up and gestured for Felix to carry their package. She internally thanked God that Felix was such a helpful child.

"Junilla?" A voice queried from behind her and Valeria froze for a moment upon hearing her mother's name. She half turned around and was surprised to see the Bishop standing there with several of his Roman guards around him.

"No, I'm sorry." She murmured turning away. "You must have me confused with someone else." She went to walk away, but the Bishop blocked her path, giving her an intent look, before his face cleared in understanding.

"You must be Junilla's daughter then." He said with an air of self-assurance. "I knew your father well. But they have been recalled to Rome." He looked her up and down. "And yet, you remain here. In _Briton_."

"Yes." Valeria mumbled and tightened her grip on Lucia, she tried to walk around the Bishop and head back to the relative safety of the tavern, not even bothering to correct him that Fulvonius was her step-father and not her father.

"I remember your father, Fulvonius, told me something about you…I can't _quite _recall…" He trailed off with a careless shrug.

"Mama, can we go?" Felix asked shifting the heavy bag of soap he carried a bit impatiently. Felix didn't really like the man that was talking to his mother; he could tell that she was uncomfortable. But his interruption caused the Bishop to take notice of him for the first time and the older man looked back and forth between the boy and Valeria as though putting together a puzzle.

"You…and the Sarmatian?" He said with disgust evident in his tone. Looking at the boy, it was impossible not to see his resemblance to the tall, fair haired Sarmatian knight. Suddenly, he realized it had been _her_ greeting the knights when they returned. At the time, he had thought that she looked familiar and now he knew why. Valeria stiffened at his tone.

"Excuse me, Bishop. I must return to my work." She said in a tightly controlled tone. She gestured for Felix to follow her and they started to walk away. But the Bishop grabbed her arm in a viselike grip to stop her.

"He'll be either freed or dead when he returns. Then where will you be, you stupid, silly girl?" The Bishop hissed.

"With Gawain." She answered firmly, wrenching her arm free.

"You're even more foolish than your father said." The Bishop said haughtily. "You disgrace your family with your delusions." He straightened up and smoothed down his robe, giving her another disgusted look. "No Roman, nay, no decent Christian would dare associate with you or your half-breed children." He sneered.

She trembled a bit under his look. He reminded her so much of the step-father who had ruled her life so sternly and terribly until Gawain had come into her life. Then, in a way, it was Gawain who saved her again, this time from the Bishop.

"We have to go, we have chores to do." Felix said, holding up the sack of soap at the Bishop. It was a strong soap with a strong, stringent smell. The Bishop recoiled a bit and Felix grinned mischievously. He hadn't understood all of what the man had said to his mother, but he did know that she was getting upset.

"Yes, come along." Valeria said, and adjusting her grip on Lucia she side-stepped the Bishop completely. Holding her head up high, she knew that there was no way for her to defend herself to a man like that. What did he know about love? It seemed to her that he skipped over that aspect of the Christian faith.

"Even if he does live, you'll never see Rome or your family again!" He called after her. How dare that Sarmatian whore just step around him like he was nothing!

Valeria's didn't turn around to answer, her steps didn't even falter. She had known ever since receiving that letter from her mother after Felix was born that she would never see her mother or Rome again. She had found peace with the former many years ago and didn't really care about seeing the latter anymore. She had made her decision to stand by Gawain and no self-important Bishop was going to shift her from that path now. She felt relieved as she walked into the tavern, sure that the bishop wouldn't follow her in there.

"There you are! What took so long?" Vanora asked as Valeria and the children came in the door, Felix proudly bearing the soap.

"We saw a mean man." He said placing the sack on the table before his Auntie Vanora. Vanora frowned over at her friend as Valeria moved to settle a sleepy Lucia on a bench with a blanket.

"Valeria?" She questioned. Valeria looked up at her friend and shook her head a bit.

"The Bishop saw me in the market and thought that I was my mother." She paused. "He might've said a few things that were out of line." She shrugged, not really wanting to make a big deal of it.

"That man!" Vanora hissed and began to take out her anger on the tavern's dirty counter. Between her anger and the new soap, the counter would be clean in no time. Valeria chuckled a bit at her friend's reaction, knowing that a good part of her anger came from the mission the Bishop had sent the knights on.

"Don't worry, Van. Everything will be alright, nothing bad is going to happen." Valeria answered shaking her head. "They'll be fine." She repeated in an effort to reassure both herself and her friend before applying herself to the task at hand.

OOOOooooOOOO

After a hard day of riding, the knights camped for the night. They had been on the road for several days and it would be one more day's ride before they reached the Roman estate. But they knew that they wouldn't get a lot of rest tonight. The island decided that tonight would be the perfect time for a rainstorm. They had managed to get a fire going, but even that didn't seem to ward off the chill in the air. Gawain groaned.

"I can't wait to leave this island. If it's not raining, it's snowing, if it's not snowing- it's foggy!" He complained.

"And that's the summer." Lancelot added with a smirk.

"The rain is good. It washes all the blood away." Bors said tilting his head up a bit so the rain washed down his face.

"Doesn't help the smell." Dagonet said sharply and Bors chuckled a bit in agreement.

"Hey Bors, you intend to take Vanora and all your little bastards back home?" Lancelot asked changing the subject. There was only so many conversations about the weather that he could stand.

"I'm trying to avoid that decision- by getting killed!" Bors called back and all the knights laughed at him. "Dagonet, she wants to get married and give all the children names." Bors added.

"Women!" Tristan muttered sheathing the sword he was polishing. Then he looked over at Bors a bit thoughtfully. "The children already have names, don't they?"

"Just Gilly. Was too much trouble, so we gave the rest of them numbers." Bors admitted sheepishly. All this time, the other knights had thought that they just _called_ the children by number, but had named them. Although, in fairness, they didn't know that Vanora always insisted on the oddest names for the children. Bors figured it was really a public service that they _had_ only named Gilly.

"That's interesting. I thought you couldn't count." Lancelot said and all the knights laughed again. But Bors appeared to be in an introspective mood and didn't want to change the subject.

"You know, I never thought I'd get back home alive. Now I have the chance, I-I don't want to leave my children." Bors said staring blankly into the night.

"You'd miss 'em too much." Dagonet replied with a bit of a grin.

"Well, I'll take 'em with me. I like the little bastards. They mean something to me." Bors paused and looked around. Then he seemed to realize just how introspective he was becoming. He shook himself out of his mood. "Especially number Two! He's a good fighter!" He added loudly.

"That's because he's mine." Lancelot put in. Gawain choked a bit on his drink and all the knights except for Bors laughed.

"I'm going for a piss." Bors muttered and wandered away from the circle.

As Bors left, Gawain felt his own thoughts drift towards his family. Although he had told Valeria that they would return to Sarmatia, and he was intending to return with his family, he was a bit nervous about presenting a Roman wife to his tribe. There was so much hatred for the Romans, Gawain worried about the sort of prejudice and hostility Valeria and his children would face. Pushing those thoughts aside, he pulled his old tattered cloak around him, wishing that he had brought the new one that Valeria and Elspeth had made for him. Instead, he had left the fine new cloak at home with her, as a promise that he would return. This mission couldn't be over fast enough.

OOOOooooOOOO

The knights reached the estate at about mid morning the next day. Once they were there, they were appalled by the poor conditions of the laborers compared to the opulence of the estate. They were even more disgusted when they found the dungeon that was used to torture those that did not do exactly as Marius demanded. Of the poor souls that were sent to rot down there, they only managed to save two: the Woad woman Guinevere and the young boy Lucan.

No one knew Lucan's origins. The boy seemed to speak both Latin and the native Briton language equally well. He didn't look particularly Roman, but he also didn't look particularly like a Briton or Woad either. The knights collectively decided none of this mattered when Dagonet took a liking to the boy. Besides, they didn't have too much time to argue or ponder these things; they had all begun to hear the Saxon drums closing in on them.

As they rode as fast as they could away from Marius' estate, Gawain couldn't help but think back to all the horrors that they had seen at the Roman estate. There had never been another mission like this one. He knew that he and the other knights had seen their fair share of evil in the world during their 15 years of service to Rome, but nothing had prepared him for the dungeon that he had walked into. Thinking of his own son and daughter, Gawain could scarcely believe that there were people out there who would torture _anyone_ let alone the children they had found in the dungeon. He wondered if this mission was cursed; if it would turn out to be the end of them all.

This truly became a concern when it seemed as though the Saxon drums were getting closer and closer. Normally, they would be able to outrun the Saxons and reach the safety of Hadrian's Wall with no problem. But not this time; even though they didn't spend the night at the estate, with the addition of the laborers and their chattel to the party, it seemed as though the Saxons were closing in on them.

There was no avoiding it, they would have to fight eventually; the only question was where. Could they find a battle field that would give them any sort of advantage over their foes and possibly even get the people they were escorting out of the line of fire? Soon, the road that they were following dead ended into a lake. Fortunately the lake was frozen. If it wasn't, there would have been no chance to escape death. Now, at least they had a chance- if the ice was strong enough to hold them.

"Is there any other way?" Arthur asked.

"No, we have to cross the ice." Tristan stated. Arthur looked back at the people that they were escorting to safety.

"Get them all out of the carriages and tell them to spread out." He called to Jols as the knights dismounted and began to tentatively test the strength of the ice. The ice seemed to be strong and the people started to cross as well. They could hear the ice cracking under them and their belongings but soon the ice is the least of their worries- the Saxon drums sound closer than ever. The group paused for a moment and Arthur caught the eye of his loyal knights.

"Knights?" He inquired. They all knew the question Arthur was asking in that one word.

"Well, I'm tired of running. And these Saxons are so close behind, my arse is hurting." Bors said with a grunt.

"Never liked looking over my shoulder anyway." Tristan put in.

"It would be a pleasure to put an end to this racket." Gawain said with a smirk.

"And finally get a look at the bastards." Galahad added.

"Here. Now." Dagonet stated firmly.

Lancelot merely shrugged as Arthur looked for his input. Jols commandeered two of the refugees to help him hold the horses and unload the weapons to ready the knights for battle as the knights all took out their swords.

"Ganis, I need you to lead the people." Arthur called to the young man they had met with at Marius' estate. "The main Saxon army is inland so if you track the coast line until you're well south of the Wall, you'll be safe."

"You're seven against 200!" Ganis protested.

"Eight." Guinevere put in as she walked around from behind one of the wagons. Arthur gave her a disapproving look. "You could use another bow." She added coolly and Arthur watched her walk away, his scowl sifting to a worried look instead.

"I'd rather stay and fight." Ganis said drawing Arthur's attention away from Guinevere.

"You'll get your chance soon enough." Arthur said before turning to Marius' soldiers. "This man is now your captain, you do as he says. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." They answered in unison. Although Arthur was not fully convinced of Marius' former bully boys' loyalty, he knew that he had to trust Ganis to handle them and get the people to safety. His own duty was here, with his knights.

Jols finished laying out flights of arrows on the ice. From their position, the knights saw Arthur talking to Alecto, but for the most part they didn't pay attention to that or the departing caravan as they ready themselves for the battle. However, Dagonet waved to Lucan with a melancholy look on his face and Lucan waved back, looking worried and confused. Before too long, the caravan disappears from sight, leaving only the knights and Guinevere on the ice.

But seems like only a moment that they are alone on the ice. The caravan may be gone but in its place, a Saxon army begins to snake its way onto the far bank of the ice, their banner waving in the air and their drums echoing in the stillness of the valley.

"Hold until I give the command." Arthur said as they all remained poised for battle.

"You look frightened." Lancelot murmured, glancing at Guinevere out of the corner of his eye. "There's a large number of lonely men out there." He added with a smirk.

"Don't worry I won't let them rape you." Guinevere replied sardonically with a slight lift of her eyebrow. However, before anything else can be said, the Saxons fire an arrow at the knights, but it comes up well short of their position. Arthur paused for a moment wanting to see what his enemy would do; but the Saxons do not advance right away.

"I believe they're waiting for an invitation. Bors, Tristan." Arthur said to his knights indicating that they should fire.

"They're far out of range." Guinevere protested. Arthur merely nodded a little smugly at her as Bors fired one arrow and Tristan fired several into the waiting Saxons. Their arrows hit their marks, much to Guinevere's surprise. The Saxons began to advance. As the army moved closer, all the knights- and Guinevere- notch arrows and send them towards their enemies. The ice began to settle and shift loudly as the Saxons cross it.

"Aim for the wings of the ranks, make them cluster." Arthur commanded and the knights comply. As the Saxons continue to cluster, the ice began to crack more and more. It seemed like at any moment the ice would break. But some of the Saxons penetrate Arthur's plan and try to force the troops to hold their ranks.

"It's not going to break. Back! Fall back! Prepare for combat." Arthur called out and the knights all throw down their bows and reach for their close range combat weapons.

At first Dagonet picked up his axe but as he hefts the blade in his hand, he seemed to be thinking about something else. _'If I give up my own life, my brothers will live.' _The thought floated through his head and with a battle cry, he charged out towards the Saxons, axe in hand.

"Dag!" Bors called out, but Dagonet ignored him and continued to run towards the Saxons.

"Cover him!" Arthur cried out frantically.

Once Dagonet got close enough to the Saxons, he began to chop the ice with his axe. The Saxons sent out their archers to try to stop Dagonet before he can accomplish goal, but Arthur and the other knights manage to kill many of the Saxon archers, just as the first chink appears in the ice. However, it seems that the Saxon assault had not been in vain- Dagonet has been struck by several arrows.

"Dag!" Bor cried.

Heedless of his own safety, Arthur charged up to Dagonet to try to pull him out of harm's way. An arrow skimmed his neck, but Arthur ignored it just as Dagonet ignored the arrows piercing his side and continued to hack at the ice until large cracks shoot towards the Saxon army. The Saxon army is forced to flee for their lives as the formerly smooth surface of the river breaks up into hazardous chunks of ice.

But this apparent victory is not without a price, Dagonet slowly fell forward into the hole that he created just as Arthur reached him. Arthur pulled Dagonet out of the icy water as Bors came running to them with his shield on his arm in an attempt to protect them all from the Saxon archers who are still firing on them. Then, as though in slow motion, the ice began to break towards where the other knights are standing.

"Pull back!" Lancelot yelled out alarmed. The battle still doesn't end even though the ground beneath the feet of both sides is literally falling apart. Both sides' archers continue to fire. Bors and Arthur slowly start to drag Dagonet to safety.

"Help us!" Bors rasped looking towards the other knights. Gawain and Lancelot ran to help their friends carry Dagonet so that they can all escape from the ice and the remaining Saxon archers. They finally manage to get off the ice.

"Stay with me. Dagonet! Stay with me!" Bors yelled frantically. But Bors' pleas were unanswered. Dagonet passed away with a strangely peaceful look on his face. The others don't notice Dagonet's peaceful look, they are too wrapped up in their own feelings of helplessness and sorrow; their feelings only magnified by Bors' audible anguish and grief.

Guinevere had never seen the knights from this side of a battle before. She expressed her feelings in the only way she thought would be appreciated from those who were once her enemies. She fired one last arrow at the retreating Saxons, pleased when it finds its mark. The battle is over, but if this was the cost of only one battle, how much more costly would a war with the Saxons be?

**AN: Please review and let me know what you think!**


	20. Freedom

**AN: Well this chapter is a little bit shorter. This is still following the movie but this chapter shows more of what happened after the knights returned. Sorry btw that i couldn't save Dagonet. When i first started writing this story i was totally going to keep him alive but then, the more I wrote, and got into the story and the time period, it didnt flow to keep Dag alive. I hope that you guys still stick with me and continue to enjoy the story :) **

**Chapter 18: Freedom**

Hadrian's Wall was usually rather quiet when the knights weren't there. But this time, a strange sense of unease caused an extra tremor in the air. Rumors had begun to spread about Rome's anticipated withdrawal from Briton. Many of the natives who had been allies of Rome felt a bit betrayed by what they saw as an abandonment.

The Romanized Britons didn't want to face the Pictish rebels, who hated them even more than those rebels hated the Romans. They didn't want to go back to living in filthy round huts and sleeping in the same room as their animals during the winter. The people were sullen, unsure if they should leave and head to Gaul, or if they should remain and see what would happen after the Romans left. There had been several instances of fights breaking out amongst those natives who had made their home at the fort and there had been more robberies than usual at the market. Valeria had a feeling that had the Bishop and his guards not been there, things would've been much worse. It seemed that his presence did have _some_ benefit.

"Valeria, you have that tea ready?" Vanora called.

"Just finishing it up now." Valeria called back as she poured boiling water over the herbs. Staying with Vanora had become more stressful the longer the knights had been away. With Vanora's brood of eleven and her own two, that meant that there were thirteen children, most of them under the age of eleven, and only two adults to care for them. The previous morning, Ten and Lucia had caught a bit of a cold, so Valeria was in the process of making some willow bark tea for them. Felix had gone to the top of the Wall with Gilly and Two to look for the knights.

"Here we are." Vanora said as Valeria walked in the room with two mugs of tea.

"Drink up darlings." Valeria added sitting to help her own little one drink the tea. One began to help her younger sister drink her tea as Vanora got up to start on making dinner.

"They'll be ok, right?" One asked anxiously. Ten was One's favorite sibling. During Valeria's time at the wall, she and One had developed a strong friendship. Ten and Lucia were born at around the same time and One had looked at Ten as her own, much to the amusement of the adults. Truth be told, Vanora had been rather relieved by One's desire to mother Ten. The twins- Eight and Nine- were only one year older than Ten and had to be watched almost every instant. A nearby crash reminded them of that.

"Eight! Nine!" Vanora yelled from where she was preparing dinner. "You get over here where I can see both of you!"

"Yes Mommy." Eight said with a frown and pulled his twin into the room so that they could stand sullenly where their mother could see them. They fidgeted a bit under her watchful stare before she turned to continue cooking.

"I swear Bors is never going to touch me again." She muttered, kneading the bread with a fury.

"Mum! Mummy!" Felix called yelling into the house.

"What is it darling?" Valeria asked slightly distracted as she wiped Lucia's nose with a rag. She thought that her daughter was beginning to look much better already. She was a little more tired than usual, but her coloring was good and she didn't appear to have a fever.

"The knights are back! Dad's back!" Felix continued happily. Valeria's eyes went wide and her heart began to beat faster. She felt giddy with anticipation and the pressure from the past week seemed to bear down on her all at once. Did Felix see Gawain from the wall? It was possible since his hair was so distinctive, but what if the children had only been able to see riders from a distance and Gawain was dead, gone forever?

"Vanora!" Valeria called, a bit of panic in her voice. Vanora came in from the kitchen with Eight and Nine trailing after her.

"What is it?" She asked tensely.

"Come, they're back." Valeria said and moved to pick up Lucia unwilling to leave her daughter behind. They all left the house quickly to go to the main gate.

"Hurry up, Mum!" Felix huffed impatiently as he marched ahead of the adults. They weren't going fast enough for his taste.

As they got closer to the Wall, dark thoughts seemed to oppress them all. Vanora shared a look with Valeria. They hadn't felt this ominous sensation in a long while, but they remembered very well what it signified. Someone had not come back from the mission.

"Felix! Come back here and hold my hand!" Valeria called sharply. She was terribly afraid that Gawain had fallen; she didn't want Felix to see that. Felix sighed, but went back to his mother.

She and Vanora stood off to the side a little bit with their children. They were unable to see above the heads of those who had crowded around the knights as they came into the fort. But even Vanora didn't try to push her way through the crowd. She was too afraid of what they would find. They were both so anxious that they almost didn't notice the boy of about ten years who rushed by them, except that he bumped into Gilly, almost knocking him down. Vanora pulled Gilly back as he went to start a fight, but all their thoughts were distracted as they heard Bors yelling above the noise of the crowd.

"Bors…" Vanora murmured and moved to greet him. She and her children began to push through the crowd and Valeria followed in their wake, still carrying Lucia and holding Felix's hand.

"Gawain." She murmured, relieved at seeing him standing over by his horse. She glanced around to check on the other knights and felt her heart turned over in her chest. Dagonet was dead.

"What happened to Uncle Dagonet?" Felix asked in a whisper. Valeria shook her head and pulled Felix towards her side as his eyes filled with tears. Lucia put her head down on her mother's shoulder. Gawain saw them and quickly walked over, clutching a piece of paper in one hand. He picked up Felix and gave Valeria and Lucia each a kiss.

"Who's the boy?" Valeria asked as Gawain began to lead them away from the courtyard and back towards their house. Gawain sighed.

"A young boy we rescued at the Roman estate." He shook his head at her questioning look and she knew not to ask any more questions in front of the children. "Dagonet was fond of him. I believe that he was planning to adopt the boy." Valeria bit her lip, wondering what would happen to the boy now?

"Perhaps we should take him in?" She asked hesitantly. Gawain merely grunted in reply. "You know that Bors and Vanora will if we don't and they already have so many children…" She trailed off with a shrug. After a moment of walking in silence, Gawain shifted Felix a bit and put his arm around Valeria kissing her on the top of the head.

"I'll speak to the boy after I see you home." He said and she nodded.

"We should go to Vanora's. I should help her with the children and I'll speak to her about the boy." Gawain nodded and dropped his family off at Vanora's house. Before he left, he knelt before Felix, taking his son by the shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"You be strong for your mother and sister. I'll be right back." Felix nodded and Gawain ruffled his son's hair before standing and kissing his wife and daughter and walking back to find Lucan. Felix watched as his father walked back towards the gate and away from them.

"Come, Felix. Your father will be back soon." Valeria said softly leading her son into the house. She quickly put Lucia down and moved to sit with Vanora and Bors at the table. The children were sitting in the main room and Felix took his sister by the hand and led her in with the others.

"Thanks for coming back." Vanora said glancing over at Valeria. Bors grunted.

"Is there anything I can do? Gawain went to get the boy." Valeria said. Vanora shook her head and Bors sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"I should've thought of the boy." He mumbled. Vanora reached out and gripped his arm.

"Don't fret about it, love. You know Gawain will take care of it."

"We've already talked about taking him in." Valeria said and Bors nodded.

"We'd be thankful for that. I just know that boy reminded Dag of Branwen." Vanora said with a sigh.

"Who's Branwen?" Valeria asked and frowned as she saw Bors' darkening look. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright lass. She was Dag's woman." Bors said and rubbed his head. "She died when she gave birth to Dag's son, then the babe died a fortnight later. That's what got Dag interested in healing in the first place."

"I had no idea." Valeria said with a frown.

"It's not a happy life that we've led." Bors admitted. Before he could continue on, or rant about anything else that the knights had dealt with, Ten came into the room and forced her way onto her father's lap.

"I love you, Daddy." Ten said as she leaned against Bors and he helped her adjust herself on his lap and kissed her on the head.

"C'mon Valeria, we should finish up our packing." Vanora said. Valeria nodded and went to round up her children leaving Vanora with Bors and Ten in the kitchen. "You gonna be alright, love?"

"Yeah, you go do what you have to." He said. Vanora gave Bors and then Ten each a kiss.

"You mind your father lovely." Vanora said before leaving Bors alone with Ten. She knew that there was nothing better for him now, than to hold his daughter close and remember that he still had a future. A future that looked like it was going to lead them all back to Sarmatia.

**AN: Please review! It would mean so much to me to hear what you think!**


	21. Uncertainty

**AN: The story is coming to an end pretty...only 1 more chapter and an epilogue...so i hope that you guys are still reading and enjoying! **

**C****hapter 19: Uncertainty **

Although the weather was sunny, a chill seemed to have overtaken the feelings of most of the caravan leaving the Wall towards Gaul. It seemed an ominous start for their journey home to leave Arthur, who meant so much to all of them, alone to face the invading Saxons. Valeria looked over to where the knights were riding in two columns from her place in the wagon. Her heart ached for them, understanding how they must've been torn, but grateful that they were all leaving Briton. She became even more anxious as they heard the Saxon drums begin to pound in the distance.

The first sign of any disturbance came from Bors' horse. It began to whiny frantically and marched around anxiously as the sound of the war drums became louder. Soon, all the knights' horses began to protest their projected path _away_ from battle.

"Hey." Tristan said making a tsking noise to his hawk. "You're free." And with a lift of his hand, the hawk flew off into the sky.

Bors looked sadly at his children, knowing that this could be the last time he would ever lay eyes on them; but in his heart he knew that his duty to Arthur, to Briton, wasn't over yet. Gawain made an attempt to smile at his own family, but the expression seemed to get stuck half way.

As Lancelot looked over his fellow knights, it is as though he can hear his father's words from all those years ago, when he first left Sarmatia: '_There is a legend that fallen knights return as great horses. He has seen what awaits you and he will protect you._' Lancelot looked up to heaven and then patted his horse on the neck. It seemed that their paths were still tied to Arthur and the island. They all knew what they had to do.

No words were spoken between the knights, but as Galahad began to grin for the first time since they left the fort, and a mighty wind blew by, they all laughed and started to unpack their full battle regalia from the wagons. Although it might be crazy, and they don't fully understand why they're going back, they realize that this _is_ their life. This is who they are and there's no turning back.

OOOOooooOOOO

As soon as Vanora and Valeria heard Bors' horse protest their march away from the battle, they knew that the knights would return to Arthur. Valeria could feel her heart in her throat as she watched Gawain unpack his armor from amongst their belongings. She remained silent, knowing that any words she said would be a plea for him to stay; she didn't want him to be distracted in battle by her pleas. Besides, his loyalty and bravery were two of the things that had first made her fall in love with him, if she begged him to turn away from Arthur and he did as she asked, she felt like it would put an impenetrable wall between them. So she watched as the man she loved prepared to face certain death.

"Mama, is Papa going back?" Felix asked coming over to sit at his mother's side.

"Yes, he's going to help Artorius." Valeria said as she put her arms around her son. Lucia was asleep but Lucan was sitting in the back of the wagon giving the knights a dark look. Valeria was at a bit of a loss at what to do with Lucan. Although the boy was several years older than Felix, his personality was quite the opposite. Lucan didn't talk and he barely ate. She knew that he had been through some horrible experiences in his short life, but she didn't know how to reach out to him and make him feel like he was a part of their family now.

"Can we go wave to him? Like when he would leave the Wall?" Felix asked. Valeria gave him a smile.

"Yes, let's. You know how your father likes that." Gaius, who was driving their wagon, helped both Felix and Valeria climb down from the wagon. Elspeth, who was riding with them, motioned that she would stay and watch over Lucia. "Lucan, why don't you come with us?" Valeria asked with a smile. Lucan merely scowled at her and retreated further into the wagon. She sighed. "Alright, you stay with Elspeth and Lucia." She said softly.

At his nod, Valeria and Felix turned and walked to the edge of the path where they saw all the knights gathered together, fully dressed in their battle regalia. Vanora stood on the path already with some of her brood. Bors looked over first and saluted his family with his pennant.

"Ruuuuss!" He called out and the other knights turned to see that Valeria and Vanora and the children had come to see them off. Felix, Gilly, and the other children all called back, saluting their fathers as they left for battle.

Gawain could see Valeria standing silently, watching him while holding Felix's hand. His son was waving at him frantically, just as he did at the Wall. Gawain felt a smile tug up the corner of his mouth. Felix was still so innocent. He raised his arm in a salute to them and then, as one, the knights turned and rode back to the Wall. The people stood and watched them ride away until the knights were out of sight.

"Come, we must get back on the move." Vanora said briskly, chivying her children back up to their wagon. Valeria turned silently and guided Felix back to their wagon too. She lifted him up as much as she could and was grateful when Lucan helped Felix scramble up the rest of the way, waking up Lucia as they repositioned themselves. Gaius helped Valeria up and she retreated to the back of the wagon to sit and watch over the children as Gaius drove the wagon.

"They're all going to die." Lucan muttered darkly once they were all settled and moving away from the Wall. At his pronouncement, Lucia began to cry. Felix went over to his sister while shooting a dark glare at the older boy. Valeria sighed and gestured to Elspeth, to go and sit with her the children. It was her own duty to see to Lucan.

"Lucan, you must not say such things." Valeria said as she sat beside the boy. She reached out to put her arm around him, but he shied away from her touch and she awkwardly pulled back. He glared a bit at her.

"Why not? That's what happens. Everyone I come into contact with dies." He looked away from her, almost afraid of what her reaction would be to such a pronouncement. Surely, she would kick him out of their wagon. Then what would become of him?

To his surprise, Valeria did no such thing. She merely sighed and moved to sit a bit closer to him. He looked at her a bit shocked but quickly looked away, not wanting her to be able to understand his thoughts. But what she did say, surprised him.

"Everyone feels like that sometimes, Lucan." He looked back over at her and saw that she wasn't making fun of him. But he didn't think she could have understood him either.

"Everyone might think that, but with me it's real." He shut his mouth in a tight line and looked away again, this time blinking back tears.

"Lucan…" Valeria tentatively put her hand on his shoulder. She was encouraged when he didn't shake her off. "I know that you have been through more than most people have had to go through in their lives." She paused and took a deep breath, wanting to say what she was thinking correctly. "But no one has the life that they expected. Look at Gawian, he was taken as a young boy to fight for a country he hated and watched many of his friends, his brothers, die. Yet, he always has a smile for us when he comes home."

"I guess." Lucan said after a moment of silence passed. "But what about you? You're a Roman, nothing's bad for you." He muttered petulantly. Valeria gave him an assessing look.

"I am happy with my life, but it hasn't been without its struggles." Lucan snorted and Valeria reminded herself that he was just a young boy and that he was suffering. It wouldn't do to get irritated with him now. "You see Gawain and myself together now as though it is normal, but our relationship has not always been easy."

"What do you mean?"

"The first day Gawain and I ever exchanged words, my brother was shot and killed by Woads and Gawain gave me this scar to save me from the rest of the Woads." She held up her arm to show him the scar on her forearm. "He had pushed me under my carriage to save my life." Lucan looked at her with a bit more respect briefly, before he frowned.

"But then you were together." He said with a shrug. She chuckled and shook her head.

"Hardly, I didn't see him or any of the knights again for three years." He looked a bit surprised. "Our paths crossed quite by accident and we…" She cleared her throat a bit uncertain about how to proceed. "Well, we fell in love. But my family, especially my step-father, did not want me to be with Gawain. I found out I was with child and my step-father tried to beat me to death. Fortunately my mother sent me to the Wall where Gawain found me again. We've been together since then, but it hasn't been easy all the time."

"So what can we do? Everything has worked out now, but what if it all ends? What if they _do_ die?" Lucan asked. Although he had accepted that not everything had been perfect for her, he still didn't believe that anything would work out for him.

"Lucan, we can't go through life expecting the worst. You grieve when things go wrong and then move forward. But right now, there is nothing to grieve over; only pray. We can pray that they will remain safe and return to us."

"Pray?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes. It is all we can do while they are away."

"What do we pray?" Lucan asked not fully convinced. His last experience with prayer and prayers had not been good.

"Dear God, please keep them safe and let them return to us." Valeria said softly. She gave him a half smile. "I say that in my head whenever they are away."

Lucan thought about it for a while. He looked at the lady beside him. When her knight had come and taken him from the courtyard a few days ago, he had been surprised to find that the Roman lady, Valeria, had been the one to suggest they take him in. He watched the trees go by for a long moment and eventually Valeria left him to his thoughts with a brief kiss on the head. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she went to her two children and reassured them that everything would be alright.

It struck him that this was probably one of the hardest things to do; to pretend everything was alright and not give in to your own feelings of despair; to be strong for someone else. He felt his eyes burn with tears as he remembered how his own attitude had only made the little girl cry. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and blinked back the tears.

"Dear God, please keep them safe and let them return to us." He muttered under his breath. To his surprise he did feel a little bit better, like the load had been shared somehow. With a shrug he walked over to where Valeria and Elspeth were acting out some sort of story with some of Felix's toys. He sat beside Felix, who gave him a suspicious look at first but at Lucan's subdued expression, the easy going Felix gave Lucan a tentative smile.

"You'll like this story. Mummy and Daddy do it best, but Auntie Elspeth does a good job too." He said and Lucan returned his smile slightly.

"We'll have to have them do it again when your Dad comes back." He replied. Felix nodded and looked back to the adults.

The caravan travelled on. Occasionally, the inhabitants would look up at the sky to track the progress of the sun to judge how much time had passed. Although they couldn't hear the drums anymore, or any of the sounds from the battle they were fleeing, it felt like death was chasing after them. As the sun started to sink below the horizon, Valeria had only one thought running through her mind as they seemed to get farther and farther away from the man that she had given up everything for:

"_Dear God, please keep him safe and let him return to us." _

**AN: reviews are welcome!**


	22. At the End, A Beginning

**AN: Well, this is the last chapter! Only an Epilogue to go after this. I hope that you all are still enjoying it even though the second part is a lot less creative than the first part. :) **

**Chapter 20: At the End, a Beginning**

The battle was over. The knights and the Woads moved through the field strewn with the dead and dying and looked for familiar faces; faces of friends that could still be saved. Faces that they didn't want to leave to moulder with their enemies. Arthur looked up through the smoke wafting all around them after he killed the Saxon leader trying to find his knights. He couldn't believe the carnage that he was faced with. In all their time fighting the Woads, they had never fought in a battle this massive in scale.

Suddenly, there was a gap in the smoke and he could see Guinevere, alive, kneeling beside a body. He recognized the horse that was snuffling beside the body, trying to wake its master. Arthur ran over frantically, afraid for what he was about to see, but resigned none the less. Kneeling beside the body, Arthur felt as though his heart shattered.

"It was my life to be taken! Not this! Never this!" Arthur cried out to heaven. The three remaining knights made their way over to where Arthur and Guinevere were kneeling and mourning Lancelot. Bors carried Tristan and Galahad helped Bors lay Tristan down on the ground next to Lancelot.

"My brave knights, I have failed you." Arthur cried out again. "I neither took you off this island, nor shared your fate." Guinevere looked at Arthur curiously as though still slightly astonished at how much this man could care for his men.

They all stood in silence looking down at the fallen knights as the wind blew the smoke from the battle all around them. Looking at all the death around him, Gawain was glad that his family was nowhere near the Wall this day. With an ache in his heart, he wondered how they were coping after he had left them to go to the battle.

"Arthur, we must go back to the caravan and fetch out people." Gawain said. He was hesitant to interrupt Arthur in his grief, but every moment that they dallied the caravan got farther away.

"Aye, I got to get my little bastards back in their house." Bors said with a slight grin. Arthur wiped the back of his hand across his face, riding himself of the tears that lingered at the corners of his eyes but leaving a black sooty streak behind.

"Yes, of course. You must go." Arthur said meeting Guinevere's eyes. He couldn't let Vanora and Valeria wonder any longer the fate of their men. Especially not now; now that he understood so well what it was to love a woman better than himself.

"We'll leave right now." Gawain said and he and Bors turned to find their horses. Lancelot's horse was right there, but it would've felt disrespectful to ride their fellow knight's steed so soon after his death.

Finding horses quickly, they saddled up and rode in the direction that the caravan had been heading, down towards Londinium. They didn't speak as they went. Both knights were intent on finding their families and assuring them that they would never be parted again. As night began to fall, they started to worry that they would have to camp out. With a pang, Gawain thought of Tristan who had been able to navigate his way through the wilds of Briton even at night. Now Tristan was gone too.

"Up ahead! A light!" Bors called out and Gawain shrugged off his temporary melancholy. He felt his heart jump.

"The caravan." He murmured with a smile. He and Bors exchanged a look before riding as hard as their horses would allow towards the caravan. It seemed that the Romans who were travelling with the caravan were even more afraid of Briton at night; camp had already been set up and the fires were blazing.

"Ho there! Stop!" A guard called out. The knights quickly reigned in their horses. "Who goes there?"

"Do we look like Saxons to you, ya bastard!" Bors snarled, impatient at the stop. The Roman gave Gawain a sideways look, causing the knight to snort in amusement.

"All I know is that I was told not to let anyone pass unless they know the password." The guard insisted.

"If we were Saxons, we wouldn't be waiting for a password." Gawain growled impatiently.

"I'll give you a password." Bors muttered before drawing his sword. The Roman leapt back in alarm, drawing his own sword, but Bors didn't attack. Instead he merely held his sword aloft. "Ruuuuusss!" Bors yelled at the top of his lungs. When he stopped, it was like an echo of his cry lingered for a few moments, and then there was a brief moment of silence. But only a brief moment.

"BORS!" They heard Vanora cry out and several echoing calls of 'Daddy!' afterwards. It seemed to Gawain that before he could blink, Vanora and most of her brood had appeared before them and she was recklessly pushing the guard away as Bors dismounted to pull her into a fierce (and somewhat smelly) hug. Gawain dismounted chuckling as several of Bors' children greeted him when they couldn't reach their father.

"You should go to Valeria, she's worried sick." One said to him as she gave him a light hug. He felt a momentary pang looking at One's familiar eyes and curly hair. Lancelot was gone but it seemed that he still lived on in his daughter. Gawain merely nodded and led his horse past the sputtering Roman guard.

"You can't go back there!" The guard said trying to draw his sword. But he was no match for Two and Gilly.

"You leave our Uncle Gawain alone, you big idiot! Can't you see that he's a Sarmatian knight?" They said and managed to prevent him from pulling out his weapon. Gawain chuckled and patted the boys on the head. He wandered a bit aimlessly through the camp and was starting to get frustrated that he couldn't find Valeria and his children in the mass of people. Just as he was about to give up and start calling their names, he spotted Lucan lurking by one of the wagons. The boy seemed to be frozen, staring at him. Gawain gave a tentative smile and led his horse over.

"Lucan! Come over to the fire, dear. It's time for dinner." He heard Valeria call out and his head snapped over to where he heard her voice come from. His eyes hungrily searched the darkness waiting for her to appear. "C'mon dear. Without Vanora's boys around you can get a bigger helping." Gawain smiled at the laughter in her voice and she stepped out from behind the wagon. "Lucan-" Her voice got cut off as soon as her eyes landed on Gawian.

"Gawain!" She cried out hoarsely and before either knew what was happening they were in each other arms. Gawain was kissing her and she was gripping his armor until her knuckles turned white. He pulled away and was surprised to see that he was several steps away from his horse and Lucan had managed to walk over to the animal and catch its bridle.

"I'm here. I'm here with you." Gawain murmured turning his eyes back to his woman. She was looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I love you." She whispered smiling through her relief. He reached up and wiped one of her tears away with his thumb.

"I love you too." He said with a smile.

"Mama?" Felix asked poking his head around the corner, wondering where his mother had gone off too. And just like that, as any parent of small children will know, their romantic moment was cut short. "Daddy!" Felix cried happily and ran to his parents throwing his arms around his father as far as they would go.

Valeria wiped her eyes as she stepped a bit away from Gawain to allow their son to get in between them. Hearing Felix's happy cry, Elspeth abandoned her place at the fire carrying Lucia with her. Turning to Lucan, Valeria gestured for him to join their family group. Tying up the horse to the wagon, Lucan came over and was pleasantly surprised when Gawain slung an arm around his shoulders before leaning over to pluck Lucia out of Elspeth's arms.

"My little princess!" He said, giving Lucia a sloppy kiss that caused her to squeal in delight.

"Come, why don't we go sit by the fire." Valeria said noticing how tired Gawain looked. She leaned up to kiss him again. "I'll arrange a bath for you after you eat." She murmured and he gave her a grateful grin as everyone else agreed and they happily made their way to the fire. Lucan hung back a bit.

"Come Lucan. You are part of our family now." Gawain said turning to the boy and Lucan gave a brief smile and followed. He didn't notice the look that passed between Valeria and Gawain, a look of understanding and love.

Lucan didn't speak. He could hardly believe that what he had wished for, what he had hoped for had come true for once. Convulsively clutching Dagonet's ring that he still wore around his neck, Lucan went to join the family feeling oddly free.

OOOOooooOOOO

It was several months later that they began the journey from Hadrian's Wall to the south of Briton where ages ago the Druids had erected some sort of monument. The journey had taken a long time and they arrived just as spring was starting to slide into summer. Valeria looked around the stones a bit apprehensively, using one hand to keep the children close and reaching for Gawain with her free hand. He looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

Truth be told, all the knights were a little bit nervous this day. Arthur was getting married. While they had all expected that to happen eventually, they had never expected him to marry a Woad. Although they had spent the months before they departed on the journey forming a joint society with the Woad rebels, native Britons who had been loyal to Rome, and Roman settlers who had elected to stay, the groups all seemed to eye each other anxiously. Forcefully pushing these thoughts aside, Valeria turned her attention to the wedding.

Merlin walked through an aisle of Woad warriors who were holding torches, even though it was still daylight. As Merlin walked down the path they created, he shook a bundle of sage to purify the land that they were standing on. Merlin held out a gold cup, intricately designed, to Guinevere. Guinevere drank from the cup before handing it to Arthur. Arthur also drank from the cup.

"Arthur. Guinevere. Our people are one. As you are." Merlin said in a raspy voice. As Guinevere and Arthur shared a kiss, the crowd of people gathered for the wedding cheered around them. Bors looked down at the baby in his arms, holding it slightly away from his body.

"Now I'm really going to have to marry your mother." He said in a half playful, half terrified tone.

"Who said I'd have you?" Vanora replied sharply as she impatiently took the baby back from Bors. Gilly quickly punched his father and Bors pushed his favorite son back behind the rest of his crowd of children. Their attention was quickly brought back to the ceremony as Guinevere and Arthur moved to stand where Merlin was before. Merlin held up the bundle of herbs in his hand and the crowd's cheers were silenced for a moment.

"King Arthur!" Merlin shouted and the crowd's cheers redoubled as they all repeated what Merlin had said and began to kneel before their king. The knights looked around a little bit confused at all the fuss. Arthur gestured for silence and the crowd is instantly silenced.

"Let every man, woman, child, bear witness. That from this day, all Britons will be united in one common cause!" Arthur called out earnestly. He drew out Excalibur as the rest of the crowd began to chant his name. The knights, however, stood and drew their own swords.

"Artorius!" Bors yelled above the racket of the crowd. Arthur turned to look at him and then Bors placed the hand holding his sword over his heart, giving a traditional Roman salute. However, as he looked around at the crowd of people cheering, he began to realize that now Artorius will forever be known as Arthur.

Gawain and Galahad glanced at each other in slight disbelief as the crowd continued to cheer and Valeria's eyebrows shot up as Guinevere placed her hand over Athur's on the sword. To a traditionally raised Roman woman, a woman publicly claiming equality with her husband was taboo. However, the royal couple didn't notice any of these things as they turned, as one, to a row of archers overlooking the beach. At Arthur's signal, the archers shot flaming arrows into the sea.

Gawain put his sword away and wrapped an arm around Valeria. Both of them glanced over where Lucia, Felix, and Lucan all seemed to be celebrating the wedding with Bors' brood of children. They looked back at each other smiling as Valeria slipped her arm around Gawain's waist and he leaned down to kiss her. Galahad looked over and rolled his eyes before walking over to make sure the children didn't kill each other in their exuberance.

"Well woman, what do you say?" Gawain asked gruffly pulling away from her. She grinned at him a bit mischievously.

"Why Sir Gawain…are you asking me to marry you?" She asked innocently. Gawain did not grin back. Valeria was surprised about the uncharacteristic serious look on his face. "Gawain?" He leaned in a bit closer to her.

"Is it so strange that I would want to marry you?" He asked. Valeria wound her other arm around him and continued to look up at him, her chin resting on his chest. She became serious as well.

"All these years together…Gawain, I was serious when I told you that in my heart, we were married already." She said and he looked down at her as though judging her honesty. Seeing that she too was being serious, he let a little smile creep across his face.

"I meant it too. But I know how women are. I know that you'd like all this." He gestured with his head to the ceremony. Valeria wrinkled her nose a bit and he laughed. "Alright, without the cheering Woads." He amended and they both chuckled a bit.

"I own, I would like to have a ceremony that shows everyone what we mean to each other." She said with a bit of a blush. "But, I think that our life with all our children shows that too. It's been so long and I know you don't really fancy Merlin marrying us…" She trailed off with a shrug.

"To be honest, it doesn't matter to me where or who…but being able to actually be married now that I'm no longer a slave to Rome…" He allowed his hand to trail through her hair. The gesture was almost absent as it was one that he had done for so many years. "I've thought about it since we were freed. There's not been a lot of time since the battle at Badon Hill, but now…as soon as we reach the Wall let's do it." Gawain stated firmly. Valeria smiled up at him, the mischievous look back in her eyes.

"I think that we should get married before we head back to the wall." She said and was pleased that, although he looked surprised, he looked very happy at the idea.

"And why's that?"

"By the time we make it back to the wall, I think that I might be in my confinement." She said with a sparkle in her eye.

"Another baby? Truly?" He asked with a grin. She merely nodded, smiling at him. Gawain gave a whoop and picked her up, twirling her around. Valeria laughed causing Felix to come over.

"Mummy! Daddy! What are you doing?" He asked. Gawain put Valeria down and they pulled their son into the hug. Soon, Lucan came over carrying Lucia.

"What's going on?" Lucan asked.

"Well children, I hope that you've liked the wedding because your mother and I have decided to get married as well." Gawain said beaming at his family. Felix and Lucia, who didn't really understand what this meant aside from another party, began to jump up and down excitedly. Lucan looked a bit hesitant at the news.

"What will happen to me?" He asked in almost a whisper. Valeria frowned and gave him a tight hug.

"Nothing will change for you, Lucan. You're a part of this family." She said firmly and Gawain, not one for overly emotional scenes, chucked Lucan under the chin.

"In fact, we're counting on you to make sure that Felix and Lucia aren't overly enthusiastic with the new baby that's coming." He grinned at Lucan's surprised look. But soon, the boy gave a hesitant smile in return. Any reply that he was about to make was cut off by Bors.

"What's this! Now I'll never hear the end of it from Vanora; not getting married!" Bors called out coming over to join them. Vanora was right behind, with all of their children following in their wake.

"Another party!" Two called out happily. Bors slapped Gawain on the back as Vanora pulled Valeria into a tight hug. Galahad followed behind the children with a bemused look on his face. He clasped hands with Gawain as soon as he reached the group.

"It's about time you scoundrel." He said grinning at Gawain. He turned to congratulate Valeria and blushed when she kissed his cheek.

"I expect you to come over to dinner at least once a week." She said with a smile on her face. Galahad's grin widened.

"I do that anyway." He said with an embarrassed shrug.

"Well, don't you go thinking that's about to change." She replied as Arthur walked over with Guinevere.

"Arthur! You're the one who started this! Gawain says he's going to marry Valeria!" Bors called out still slightly disgruntled. Vanora slapped his arm before dumping the baby in his grasp and going to greet Guinevere.

"I can't think of a better idea." Arthur returned seriously as he went to congratulate his knight. Bors gave a disgusted sigh.

"Arthur." Gawain said and he broke away from the children surrounding him to clasp hands with his commander, his new king. Arthur smiled at the most steadfast of all his knights.

"I hear congratulations are in order." Arthur said. Gawain gave him a bit of a sheepish look.

"I should be saying that to you." Gawain replied looking around at all the people celebrating the union of Arthur and Guinevere. Neither man seemed to be able to wipe the happy smile off of his face. "It looks like you've started a whole new world here."

"Hopefully a better world." Arthur answered. Gawain gave Arthur an assessing look before grinning.

"I have a feeling you're up for the challenge."

"With my knights by my side, I know that we can face any challenge." Arthur said.

"It'll be right boring though, now that we've trounced the Saxons right good." Bors put in. Although still licking his wounds that all his fellow knights except Galahad were getting married, he was never one to let something like that bother him for long.

"I don't know….Merlin gave me this map the other day that he recovered from a caravan travelling to the wall a few years back." The knights all groaned at the familiar look in Arthur's eyes; it was the same look he got when he was about to send them on some sort of crazy mission.

"A map? Map to what?" Galahad asked. Bors slapped him upside the head.

"Haven't you learned anything yet pup?" Bors growled. Galahad shot Gawain a look, but Gawain merely rolled his eyes.

"Don't get him started when he's in mission mode." Gawain clarified. All three knights shared at chuckle as Arthur looked at them a bit sheepishly. Gawain sighed. "So what is the map to?" He asked in a resigned voice.

"The Holy Grail." Arthur returned with a pleased smile.

The knights merely groaned.


	23. Epilogue

**AN: So here is the final chapter! i hope that you guys have enjoyed the ride...i really had a great time writing this! **

**Epilogue**

It turned out that the map to the Holy Grail was a fake. Taking a closer look at the map, it was seen that the Grail was supposedly in Southern Briton buried in some white cliff or other. After some careful convincing on the part of Gawain and Galahad while Bors ranted about pointless quests, Arthur was finally forced to admit that the map was probably just made by some charlatan back in Rome hoping to fleece some poor would-be pilgrim out of their money.

It had only taken him five years to admit this, but it did manage to keep the knights busy in that time riding over the countryside and looking for landmarks that appeared on the map. Apparently the fleecer had been to Briton because the map did accurately capture several landmarks.

After they had settled things with the map and Arthur's love of quests, things had taken a turn for the better. The quest, however fake it was, had seemed to unite the people together and their society was relatively peaceful and prosperous. Of course that could only last for so long. Soon there was news of another Saxon force on their shores and even news that perhaps the Hiberians were planning to invade too.

Gawain, Galahad, and Bors were the only three of the original Sarmatian knights under Arthur's charge. But it seemed that they would not be the only knights of the round table for long. Several of the Woad warriors, or Picts as they were supposed to call their new allies now, had sought to claim a place at the famed table right away. That had caused some friction with the three remaining Sarmatians and Arthur had had his work cut out for him. Over the passage of time, the old animosity seemed to fade as they continued to unite against their common enemies, but it was much easier for them all once the younger generation became old enough to become knights. Both Sarmatian and Pict knew that those young ones had not been responsible for the death of any of their brothers. However, the younger generation becoming knights did bother Valeria. She had never expected a son of hers to become a warrior, but Lucan started training as soon as he was able and Felix talked of nothing but joining his older foster brother and father once he was able.

OOOOoooOOOO

Nothing lasts forever.

That was the last thought that Gawain had before he fell in battle. He knew that this day had been coming on for a long while. He vaguely heard Felix calling out for him, but he was too far gone to answer back. As he fell into the cold embrace of death, he was finally at peace after a lifetime of fighting.

Meanwhile, Felix quickly dispatched his Saxon foe and went over to his father's body. It was not his first battle, but it was the first where someone that he loved had died. Felix himself had married Ten, now called Edolie, several years ago and they had two children of their own. He knelt beside his father and was surprised to see a slight smile on his face.

"Father?" He called out tentatively. The battle still raged around them, but father and son seemed to be in a protective bubble of sorts. He felt no breath and he knew; his father was truly gone.

"Felix!" Lucan called out and Felix was able to turn in time to deflect a blow from the Saxon who had come at him from behind. Felix nodded his thanks to his foster brother. Lucan merely rolled his eyes and continued to fight against the Saxons. The battle ended soon after. They had managed to beat back the Saxons once more, but at a terrible cost. It seemed that their losses were growing more and more at each incursion of their enemies.

Upon their return to the wall it was old King Arthur who greeted them. At the sight of Gawain's body, the last of all the original Sarmatian knights, Arthur sank to his knees in the courtyard. Galahad had died in battle a few short years ago and Bors had succumbed to a persistent fever just the year before.

"My brave knight…" Arthur murmured from his place on his knees. He felt Guinevere put her hand on his shoulder and he realized that he was crying. "He should not have gone into battle. His time had passed."

"You knew that he would, with Felix and Lucan both going out to fight; you know that Gawain would go too." Guinevere said a touch impatiently.

"Yes." Arthur agreed. When Valeria had died all those years ago giving birth to their fifth child, a stillborn girl, Gawain had sworn to protect their living children. But now, as Arthur was faced with the loss of his last and most faithful knight, he could only feel the loss of his last remaining brother. Guinevere sighed and walked away from him. She knew there would be no use in trying to talk Arthur out of his melancholy.

It was later that day at the funeral, as they put Gawain's sword into his burial mound, that Arthur looked around at those of his warriors that now claimed a spot at the round table. It was easy to see the Pictish heritage in some and in some, he could see the Sarmatian influence; Bors' children had taken his place and even some of Galahad's brood had come of age and had taken their father's place.

But looking at these warriors, Arthur felt a sense of despair. These were not the men that he had been appointed to lead. Those men were all dead and only he remained. Here he was, the king without a son; without an heir. It seemed almost pointless to fight against the Saxons since after his death any one of these warriors could claim the throne that he left. Arthur felt as though he could see the future now. He sighed.

"Nothing can last forever." He murmured, watching as the smoke from the torches seemed to go up to heaven. His eyes lingered on the sky above them and he sighed. He wondered how long the kingdom, his legacy, would last before going up in smoke.

**AN: So I know, it ends on a bit of a downer…but I decided to go for the historically accurate approach. I do like to think that they had a bunch of good years before the end came. Hopefully, I'll be inspired to do some one-shot addons to this story. Any ideas or suggestions of anything that you'd like to see would be appreciated! I will try to deliver upon request ;) **


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